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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

Education 

GIFT  OF 


Louise  Farrow  Barr 


EDUCATION  LIBR. 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP 


a  f  aitt  Cale 


BY 


MARGUERITE   BOUVET 

AUTHOR    OF   "sweet   WILLIAM,"   "LITTLE   MARJORIE'S 
LOVE-STORY,"    ETC.,  ETC. 


HELEN    MAITLAND   ARMSTRONG 


CHICAGO 

A.   C.   McCLURG    AND    COMPANY 

1892 


Copyright 

By  a.  C.  McClurg  and  Co. 

A.D.  1892 

All  rights  reserved. 


Sduoatloa 
GIFT 


pri 
Liorar 


1 


342 


PRINCK   'lll'-ior,    lol.l.ow  1J>    I'.N    I'RINCESS  CERULF.A, 
KNlKkS    iHK    COLNCU.   CHAMBRR. 


I  MARGUERITE  BOUVET 


Vs  c^cc^lu^heS  at  Ljilcaqo 

A-C-nSCLURG  AND  Ct 


But  this  Isle, 
The  greatest  and  the  best  of  all  the  main, 
He  quarters  to  his  blue-hair'd  deities. 

Milton. 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

I.     Princess  Cerulea 15 

II.     Prince  Tip-Top 49 

III.     The  Rainbow  Valley    ....     97 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

"The  most  Winsome  Baby-Girl  that  ever 

blessed  two  fond  parents"  ....      25 

The  Queen   suggests   a  Way  out  of  the 

Difficulty 35 

The  Young  Princes  are  presented  to  the 

Royal  Couple 47 

Prince  Tip-Top   captivates   the   Princess 

Cerulea ^y 

"  No,  Pattidan,  I  AM  not  going  to  marry 
any  one  who  has  not  the  Bluest  and 
Royallest  Blood  in  his  Veins!"    .     .      69 

By  a  Singular  Coincidence,  Prince  Tip- 
Top   HAD   also  come  OUT  FOR  AN  EARLY 

Walk 75 

Prince  Tip-Top,  followed  by  Princess 
Cerulea,  enters  the  Council  Cham- 
ber      .      87 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

pollyphrastus  reads  from  the  book  of 

Wisdom 93 

Prince  Tip-Top  in  Trouble  .....     105 

"Prince   Tip-Top   he   is,  and   Prince  Tip- 
Top   HE  SHALL   ALWAYS  BE  " I09 

A  Remarkable  Bear-Dance 120 

His  Excellency  the  worthy  Prince  Sum- 
Fun      124 

Princess   Cerulea  throws  a    Flower  to 

Prince  Tip-Top 129 


PRINCE  TIP-TOP. 


PRINCESS    CERULEA. 


N  the  days  of 
Nobody-knows- 
when,  and  in  the 
land  of  Nobody- 
know  s- where, 
there  was  once 
a  queer  little 
island  called 
Okushee,  or  the 
Land  of  the  Cerulites.  It  is  a  little 
singular  that  a  place  at  once  so  curious 
and  so  attractive  should  be  so  entirely 
unknown  to  many  well-informed  people. 
Few  persons  have  ever  visited  Okushee, 


l6  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

and,  to  be  strictly  truthful,  I  have  never 
met  any  one  who  had  actually  been 
there,  nor  could  I  give  you  its  exact 
situation  on  the  map.  But  I  should  not 
be  at  all  surprised  if  it  were  away 
out  in  the  middle  of  one  of  those 
vast  blue  oceans  somewhere  near  the 
equator,  where  the  sun  shines  pleas- 
antly, and  where  the  hills  are  always 
green,  and  where  the  roses  bloom  the 
year  round,  and  where  the  people  do 
little  but  eat  and  sleep,  and  care  for 
nothing  but  frolic  and  fun. 

The  island  of  Okushee  was,  I  am 
sure,  just  such  a  place  as  this,  and  I  am 
sure,  too,  that  it  was  in  many  respects  a 
most  remarkable  country,  and  that  the 
people  who  lived  in  it  were  perhaps  the 
most  remarkable  people  on  the  face  of 
the  globe.  They  had  strange  customs 
and  strange  habits  and  strange  laws. 
They  were  strictly  what  might  be  called 
an  "  out-of-the-way  "  nation,  so  out  of  the 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  17 

way,  indeed,  that  it  proved  a  difficult 
task  for  me  to  find  them  at  all.  They 
looked  as  nobody  ever  did  look  or 
would  ever  care  to  look  in  one's  right 
mind,  and  the  most  striking  thing  about 
them  was  their  hair.  If  you  will  believe 
me,  these  curious  creatures  were  all,  for 
some  unaccountable  reason,  born  with 
blue  hair,  and  that  is  why  they  were 
called  Cerulites.  Now,  a  person  with 
blue  hair  is  a  sight  not  to  be  met  with 
every  day.  You  have  all  heard,  I  dare 
say,  the  most  delightfully  absurd  stories 
about  a  personage  who  was  so  distin- 
guished as  to  possess  a  blue  beard ;  but 
a  whole  nation  with  blue  hair  is,  indeed, 
a  thing  to  be  wondered  at. 

Nevertheless,  these  little  people  were 
very  proud  of  their  hair;  for  the  bluer 
a  person's  hair  was,  the  prettier  he  or 
she  was  supposed  to  be,  and  the  more 
aristocratic.  They  entertained  the  pleas- 
ing idea  that  blue  hair  was  a  positive 


l8  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

indication  of  blue  blood.  Hence,  the 
kings  and  queens  and  all  the  members 
of  the  royal  family  had  for  generations 
past  been  born  with  the  most  irre- 
proachable blue  locks,  of  all  shades  and 
varieties  of  that  color,  from  sky-blue 
to  indigo ;  and  one  can  scarcely  imagine 
what  a  winsome  and  alluring  aspect 
they  presented. 

As  might  well  be  expected  of  people 
with  such  an  unheard-of  peculiarity, 
their  ideas  and  notions  were  totally 
different  from  those  of  anybody  else. 
In  the  first  place,  they  were  blissfully 
and  supremely  ignorant,  —  which  fact 
naturally  led  them  to  suppose  that 
they  knew  everything;  and  the  conse- 
quence was  that  they  were  the  most 
self-satisfied,  self-complacent  set  of  peo- 
ple to  be  found  anywhere.  In  contra- 
diction to  the  dismal  hue  of  their 
hair,  the  inhabitants  of  Okushee  were 
anything     but    "  blue "    in     disposition. 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  19 

They  were  always  cheerful  and  happy. 
In  fact,  it  was  considered  a  great  crime 
to  be  unhappy ;  and  those  who  were  in 
any  way  afHicted  or  distressed  were 
promptly  drowned,  that  they  might  not 
disturb  the  peace  and  contentment  of 
the  rest  of  the  community.  To  be  sure, 
they  seldom  had  anything  to  make 
them  miserable,  for,  as  I  have  said,  the 
island  of  Okushee  was  a  pleasant  place, 
where  the  most  delicious  fruits  grew  in 
abundance ;  where  no  one  had  to  work 
to  get  a  living,  but  lived  from  day  to 
day  like  the  careless  butterflies  of  the 
fields ;  where  children  were  never  made 
to  go  to  school ;  where  boys  went  swim- 
ming and  fishing  whenever  they  liked, 
and  played  all  sorts  of  amusing  games; 
where  little  girls  had  picnics  every  day, 
and  had  the  most  beautiful  clothes  for 
their  dolls,  and  ate  all  the  chocolate- 
creams  they  wanted.  So  you  can  easily 
imagine  what  a  heavenly  state  of  things 


20  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

reigned,  and    how  like   a  perfect  fairy 
land  this  little  island  seemed. 

Another  very  pleasant  thing  about 
the  Cerulites  was  that  they  were  all 
young;  and  that  is  why,  I  think,  they 
never  thought  of  anything  but  of  enjoy- 
ing themselves.  The  king  and  queen 
were  barely  in  their  teens;  the  chan- 
cellor  of  the  exchequer  was  a  mere 
stripling,  and  a  heedless,  hare-brained 
one  at  that ;  and  the  lord  high  chamber- 
lain and  the  keeper  of  the  great  seal 
wore  the  most  disgracefully  youthful- 
looking  knickerbockers.  All  the  great 
dignitaries  of  the  land  went  right  in  for 
a  good  time  just  like  the  rest.  Nobody 
was  too  wise,  or  too  great,  or  too  im- 
portant to  indulge  in  the  fashionable 
sports  of  the  season.  The  consequence 
was  that  there  was  scarcely  a  day  but, 
had  you  happened  to  be  in  Okushee, 
you  might  have  seen  everybody  out  in 
gay  holiday  attire,  frolicking  and  sky- 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  21 

larking  about  in  a  way  that  would 
certainly  have  shocked  any  well-regu- 
lated kingdom. 

Yet  there  was  one  thing,  just  one 
thing,  that  kept  the  people  of  this 
wonderful  island  from  being  supremely 
happy. 

Away  back  in  the  legendary  days  of 
Okushee  there  had  been  a  royal  person- 
age who  had  so  far  forgotten  his  royal 
manners  and  his  Cerulean  ancestry  as  to 
fall  in  love  with  and  marry  a  chimney- 
sweep's daughter.  This  was  a  serious 
indiscretion,  and  one  to  be  punished  in 
no  trifling  way.  The  Avenging  Fairy  of 
the  island  forthwith  issued  a  terrible 
decree.  She  vowed  that  at  some  future 
time  this  thoughtless  young  king  and 
all  his  noble  line  should  be  disgraced 
by  a  descendant  with  black  hair.  There 
was  a  general  panic,  as  you  may  well 
suppose,  that  threatened  to  overthrow 
all  the  Cerulitic  doctrines  of  perpetual 


22  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

happiness,  until  at  last  the  Merciful 
Fairy,  who,  you  know,  is  noted  for  her 
happy  compromises,  stepped  in  just  at 
the  right  minute,  and  declared  that  she 
would  provide  some  means  whereby  the 
unoffending  little  heir  might  be  par- 
doned, and  his  baby  locks  restored  to 
the  approved  shade. 

But  the  difficulty  was  that  this  means 
was  to  be  found  only  in  the  most  hidden 
and  mysterious  recesses  of  the  Rainbow 
Valley.  And  the  little  Cerulites  said 
they  were  blessed  if  they  knew  where 
the  Rainbow  Valley  was.  Nobody 
knew  anything  about  it,  nobody  had 
ever  heard  of  it,  and  only  the  most 
diligent  and  persistent  search  would 
ever  find  it;  and  as  they  abhorred  and 
detested  nothing  so  much  as  exerting 
themselves,  the  Rainbow  Valley  had 
not  yet  been  discovered,  and  the  Ceru- 
lites were  still  living  with  this  terrible 
calamity   hanging    over    them.      Time 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  23 

went  on,  and  one  generation  succeeded 
another,  and  as  regularly  as  a  little  heir 
to  the  throne  was  expected,  there  was 
secret  consternation  in  the  hearts  of 
the  royal  couple,  and,  indeed,  of  all 
their  subjects ;  and  as  regularly,  too,  a 
great  reward,  sometimes  in  the  shape  of 
a  bag  of  treasures,  sometimes  in  the 
shape  of  a  beautiful  young  princess, 
was  offered  to  the  person  who  would  go 
and  find  the  mystic  Rainbow  Valley. 
Then,  of  course,  for  nearly  a  week  every- 
body went  about  with  a  great  show  of 
enthusiasm,  which,  however,  soon  sub- 
sided into  the  usual  easy-going  way. 
And  when  the  little  heir  of  Okushee 
appeared,  and  he  was  found  to  bear  no 
mark  of  disgrace  on  his  small  scalp, 
these  gay,  light-hearted  little  people 
went  their  way  rejoicing,  and  troubled 
themselves  no  more  about  the  good 
fairy's  promise.  But  the  custom  of 
dreading  the  birth  of  a  new  child  in  the 


24  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

royal  family,  and  of  offering  the  enti- 
cing reward  for  the  discovery  of  the 
Rainbow  Valley,  had  grown  to  be  a 
regular  institution,  which  never  failed  to 
be  ceremoniously  observed. 

It  so  happened  that  the  present  king 
and  queen  of  Okushee  had  a  little 
daughter  born  to  them,  the  sweetest, 
dearest,  most  winsome  baby-girl  —  ac- 
cording to  Cerulitic  notions  —  that  ever 
blessed  two  fond  parents.  In  the  first 
place,  she  came  into  the  world  with  a 
quantity  of  pale-blue  ringlets, — just  that 
delicate,  tender  hue  which  we  see  in  the 
summer  heavens.  Her  eyes  were  of  a 
deep  azure,  and  her  cheeks  were  pink 
and  white.  Then,  too,  strictly  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  moral  code,  she  was 
the  brightest,  happiest,  most  amiable 
baby  in  the  world.  She  was  never 
known  to  cry  once,  not  through  all  her 
babyhood,  which  lasted  nearly  six  weeks. 
Before  she   was  a  year  old  she  could 


"The  most  winsome  baby-girl  tiiat  ever  blessed  two 
fond  parents." 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  27 

sing  like  a  lark  and  discuss  politics  in  a 
way  that  shamed  every  statesman  in 
the  kingdom.  The  day  after  she  was 
born  she  had  cut  all  her  teeth,  —  white, 
cunning  little  teeth  that  shone  like  a 
row  of  pearls  when  she  smiled.  This 
was  considered  a  most  favorable  omen, 
and  one  which  signified  that  her  reign 
would  be  a  singularly  prosperous  and 
happy  one. 

The  most  learned  philosophers  of  the 
kingdom  came  to  pay  their  respects  to 
her,  and  to  look  at  her,  and  to  pass 
their  judgment  on  this  small  phenome- 
non, and  they  all  agreed  —  which  is  a 
strange  enough  thing  for  learned  men 
to  do  —  that  she  was  the  most  remark- 
able child  ever  born  in  the  island  of 
Okushee,  and  the  royal  couple  were 
overwhelmed  with  joy.  After  a  long 
and  animated  session  in  the  chamber  of 
parliament,  it  was  decided  that  she 
should  be  named  Cerulea,  on   account 


28  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

of  the  ravishing  hue  of  her  hair ;  and 
Princess  Cerulea  she  was  from  that  day 
forth. 

If  I  were  to  tell  you  all  the  things 
that  this  little  princess  had  to  make  her 
happy  and  comfortable,  I  greatly  fear 
that  you  might  become  discontented 
wdth  your  own  fortunes  in  this  world, 
and  perhaps  be  a  little  envious  of  her 
blessings.  But  the  life  of  a  child  like* 
Princess  Cerulea  can  scarcely  be  imag- 
ined by  any  one  w^ho  has  not  been 
fortunate  enough  to  be  born  in  the 
royal  house  of  Okushee.  She  was  the 
idol  of  doting  parents  and,  indeed,  of  a 
whole  nation.  Not  a  day  passed  but 
some  festivities  were  held  in  her  honor. 
The  rarest  gifts  and  the  costliest  treas- 
ures were  brought  to  her  from  all 
parts  of  the  kingdom,  and  nothing 
was  thought  too  good  £pr  her.  And 
although  her  education  was  in  some 
w^ays   sadly  neglected,  and    she  might 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  29 

have  been  considered  elsewhere  a  most 
ignorant  young  person,  yet  her  advice 
was  sought  on  all  important  matters  of 
state,  and  her  wishes  consulted  in  every- 
thing. 

But,  like  many  of  the  good  things  of 
this  world,  this  happy  period  of  maiden- 
hood, though  sweet,  w^as  short.  For 
among  the  many  simple  notions  of 
the  Cerulites,  was  that  of  very  early 
marriages.  Young  women  who  were  at 
all  eligible  were  married  and  settled  at 
the  tender  age  of  eight.  A  young  per- 
son of  ten  was  deemed  quite  passee,  and 
at  twelve  she  was  a  hopeless  old  maid. 
So  it  was  not  long  before  the  royal 
couple  began  to  think  of  finding  a  suit- 
able husband  for  their  daughter  Cerulea. 
One  day,  when  the  king  and  queen 
were  sitting  cosily  on  their  thrones,  all 
dressed  up  in  their  royal  robes  and 
jewelled  crowns,  and  looking  very  fine 
indeed,  the  king  turned  to  his  wife,  and 


30  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

putting  his  spectacles  on  his  nose,  said, 
with  a  knowing  air,  — 

"  My  dear,  is  n't  it  about  time  we 
had  a  wedding  ?  In  less  than  a  month 
our  daughter  will  have  reached  the 
mature  age  of  seven,  and  we  really 
ought  to  be  looking  around  us  for 
a  —  for  a  —  '' 

"  Prince  ?  "  suggested  the  queen. 

"  For  a  husband  of  some  sort,  unless 
we  want  her  on  our  hands  for  the  rest 
of  our  natural  life." 

"  What !  "  screamed  the  queen,  with 
much  maternal  indignation,  "  a  husband 
of  some  sort !  Why,  how^  your  Majesty 
does  talk !  Cerulea  had  twenty-six 
offers  last  w^eek,  and  seventeen  the 
week  before  ;    and  she  might  —  " 

"  Well,  well,  don't  let  our  words 
ruffle  your  sweet  temper,"  returned  the 
king,  majestically.  "  Our  royal  consent 
is  granted,  and  she  may  accept  one  of 
them,  at  least." 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  31 

The  queen  turned  and  gazed  at  her 
loving  consort  with  a  look  of  wild 
surprise. 

"  Sire  !  "  said  she,  "  can  it  be  that  you 
are  committing  the  folly  of  supposing 
that  any  nobleman  in  Okushee  is 
worthy  of  Cerulea's  hand  ?  Think  for 
one  moment ;  compare  their  hair  to 
hers,  and  then  answer  me." 

"  We  were  not  committing  the  folly 
of  supposing  anything  of  the  kind," 
rejoined  the  young  monarch,  with  a 
sudden  cough  to  hide  his  embarrass- 
ment, for  her  last  appeal  was  unanswer- 
able, and  he  knew  it;  "but  —  but  —  " 

"  Then  what  was  your  Gracious 
Majesty  supposing } "  interrupted  the 
queen,  vehemently. 

"  I  was  only  thinking  that  it  is  high 
time  Cerulea  was  married,  if  she  is  ever 
going  to  be,"  responded  the  king,  sud- 
denly, forgetting  his  kingly  phrases; 
"  and   you    and   she   may   attend   to  it. 


32  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

/  wash  my  hands  of  the  whole  busi- 
ness !  " 

Now  this  was  just  what  the  queen 
expected  and  wanted  most,  —  to  have 
the  whole  matter  in  her  own  hands ;  for 
she  and  Cerulea  had  discussed  the  sub- 
ject before,  and  were  about  of  the  same 
mind.  So  she  looked  up  at  her  lord, 
and  smiling  sweetly,  said,  — 

"  Ah,  my  liege,  now  you  speak  like  a 
king  and  a  Cerulite.  I,  too,  have  been 
pondering  over  this  serious  matter. 
But  it  is  plain  that  the  Princess  Cerulea 
cannot  possibly  marry  any  noble  youth 
in  Okushee,  for  there  is  not  among 
them  a  single  one  with  just  the  royal 
shade  of  hair." 

The  king  put  his  forefinger  to  his 
chin,  and  mused  for  some  time  over 
this  obstacle.  Then  he  took  his 
wife's  hand  affectionately,  and  said, 
"  My  love,  have  you  not  —  a  —  could 
you  not  —  with  your  usual  cleverness 


PRINCE    TIP-TOP.  33 

and  ingenuity  —  suggest  —  a  —  a  way 
out  of  this  ?  " 

''  Since  your  Majesty  is  so  gracious," 
said  the  queen,  with  a  modest  courtesy, 
"  I  think  I  can,  if  your  Majesty  will  be 
so  good  as  to  listen  to  me/' 

"  We  are  all  attention,"  replied  the 
king,  eagerly;  and  he  bent  his  lordly 
ear  and  wrinkled  his  lordly  brow  in 
quite  an  earnest  way. 

"  Your  Majesty  has  perhaps  heard  the 
wise  Pollyphrastus,  our  most  estimable 
councillor,  say  that  there  are  many 
countries  beyond  Okushee,  where  kings 
and  great  and  worthy  princes  abound. 
There  is  even,  he  says,  a  new  country 
across  the  waters,  a  country  but  lately 
discovered,  called  America,  which 
might,  perhaps,  offer  a  prince  to  Ceru- 
lea's  liking.  Now,  we  will  send  out 
heralds  to  all  these  distant  lands,  and 
have  them  proclaim  the  charms  and 
graces  of  our  daughter  the  princess, 
3 


34  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

and  invite  a  score  of  royal  personages 
to  attend  Cerulea's  birthday  ball.  It 
is  likely  enough  that  among  them  there 
will  be  at  least  one  princely  youth 
deserving  of  Cerulea's  hand  and  of  your 
royal  favor." 

"A  great  and  wise  idea!  An  un- 
commonly great  and  wise  idea ! "  ex- 
claimed the  young  king,  with  enthusi- 
asm, and  he  gave  his  knee  a  sounding 
slap  to  express  his  immense  satisfaction. 
"  It  shall  be  done  at  once ! "  and  then 
he  added,  with  a  confidential  air,  "  We 
had  been  thinking  of  the  very  same 
thing  ourself,  my  dear,  we  had  indeed ! " 

Now^  the  queen  had  certain  doubts 
about  this,  but  she  kept  them  to  herself, 
like  a  prudent,  politic  little  queen  that 
she  was.  And  then  the  royal  couple 
embraced  each  other  lovingly,  and  the 
queen  went  off  to  tell  Cerulea  the 
happy  news,  and  to  make  preparations 
for  the  ball,  while  her  liege  summoned 


The  queen  suggests  a  way  out  of  the  difficulty. 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  2>7 

his  chief  advisers  for  a  rousing  good 
game  of  tiddledywinks. 

It  was  not  many  days  before  the 
whole  island  was  alive  with  interest  in 
the  coming  festivities.  For  a  birthday 
ball  was,  to  the  Cerulites,  the  promise 
of  all  manner  of  merry-making.  Every 
one  talked  about  it,  every  one  conjec- 
tured on  the  probable  fortunes  of  the 
fair  Cerulea,  and  every  one  was  delighted 
with  the  unique  idea  of  inviting  strange 
princes  to  sue  for  the  hand  of  the  prin- 
cess. Such  a  thing  had  never  been 
heard  of  before !  The  little  scullions 
in  the  king's  kitchen  seemed  greatly 
amused  at  the  idea,  and  giggled  over  it 
as  only  kitchen  scullions  can ;  and  the 
cooks  opened  their  mouths  very  wide, 
and  crossed  their  hands  on  their  broad 
white  aprons,  and  said,  "  It  was  jest  like 
Miss  Ceruly's  noble  ma ! " 

In  the  course  of  time  a  dozen  spright- 
ly young  heralds,  splendidly  gotten  up  in 


38  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

red  and  black  suits,  wearing  cocked 
hats  and  blowing  long  trumpets,  set 
out,  according  to  the  queen's  wishes,  to 
all  the  nations  they  had  ever  heard  of ; 
and  they  took  with  them  such  glowing 
accounts  of  their  young  princess,  of  her 
beauty  and  virtues  and  learning,  and 
chiefly  of  the  marvellous  color  of  her 
hair,  which  they  said  was  the  joy  of  the 
royal  family  and  the  envy  of  all  the 
other  noble  ladies  of  Okushee,  that  very 
soon  all  the  eager  kings  and  queens 
were  wild  to  have  their  sons  try  their 
fortune.  And  as  it  was  also  rumored 
that  she  was  very  rich,  and  that  she 
would  inherit  the  whole  of  that  won- 
derful island  called  Okushee,  the  fair 
Cerulea  was  considered  an  exceedingly 
desirable  daughter-in-law. 

Consequently,  a  little  more  than  a 
fortnight  after,  these  dutiful  heralds 
returned  with  a  regular  procession  of 
youthful  suitors  from  nearly  every  polite 


PRINCE    TIP-TOP. 


39 


nation  in  the  world.  They  arrived  on 
the  very  night  of  Ceruleas  birthday 
ball,  and  of  course  the  greatest  excite- 
ment prevailed,  since  the  young  princes 
were  to  be  received  with  much  eclat,  as 
became  their  exalted  station.  There 
were  torch-lights,  red,  yellow,  and  green, 
illuminating  every  road  which  led  up  to 
the  king's  palace.  The  gardens  and 
lawns  were  festooned  with  flowers  and 
Chinese  lanterns,  and  every  window  of 
the  great  white  marble  palace  was  aglow 
with  pink  and  blue  lights.  There  was  a 
magnificent  display  of  fireworks  too, — 
Roman  candles,  and  "  wheels  "  without 
end,  and  sky-rockets  shooting  up  in- 
cessantly. The  king's  picked  orches- 
tra played  the  loveliest,  dreamiest  dance- 
music,  and  the  white  fountains  spouted 
and  tossed  their  jets  in  the  moonlight, 
and  added  their  noise  and  light  to  this 
enchanted  scene,  while  the  distant  stars 
looked  down  upon  it  all,  and  seemed  to 


40  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

smile  pleasantly  because  these  little 
people  were  having  such  a  glorious 
good  time. 

Of  course  the  young  Cerulite  ladies 
looked  perfectly  lovely  in  their  gauzy 
dresses,  and  bewitching  little  pink  bows 
in  their  hair.  And  the  young  gentle- 
men seemed  the  picture  of  contentment 
as  they  bent  over  their  fair  companions 
and  airily  discussed  the  great  topic  of 
the  day. 

"  Dear  me !  "  said  one  fair  damsel  to 
the  young  gallant  at  her  side,  "  was  n't 
that  a  famous  idea,  to  invite  a  lot  of 
strange  creatures  to  the  princess's  ball  ? 
One  would  think  there  w^ere  no  charm- 
ing gentlemen  on  the  island,"  she  added, 
with  an  arch  smile. 

"  One  would,  indeed,"  assented  the 
flattered  youth.  "  But  you  think  there 
are,  now  don't  you  "^  " 

"  Oh,  do  I .? "  laughed  the  fair  Cerulite, 
and  her  eyebrows  went  up  inquiringly. 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  41 

"  Of  course  you  do.  But  I  wish 
those  noble  young  persons  would  come. 
Don't  you  wonder  what  they  will  be 
like.?" 

"  Well,  rather,"  smiled  the  little  lady, 
and  she  shrugged  her  pretty  shoulders 
and  tossed  her  saucy  head  in  a  way  that 
ravished  her  companion. 

"  I  really  hope  their  hair  will  be  blue 
enough  to  suit  her  Majesty's  notion," 
said  the  young  gentleman,  sardonically. 

"  So  do  I ;  but  she  zs  very  particular, 
they  say,  and  I  don't  blame  her;  for 
there  is  no  denying  it,  her  own  hair  is 
the  most  gorgeous  shade  I  ever  saw! 
But  see,  there  she  is  now ! " 

Sure  enough.  Princess  Cerulea  had 
just  stepped  into  the  brilliant  garden, 
accompanied  by  her  royal  mamma,  and 
followed  by  her  maid  Pattidan.  She 
seated  herself  on  a  little  divan  made  of 
daisies  and  violets,  where  throngs  of 
admirers  came  to  pay  their  homage  and 


42  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

congratulations  to  her.  Indeed,  she 
was  sweet  and  ravishing  in  her  soft, 
silvery  gown,  with  her  waves  of  pale 
blue  hair  cascading  down  her  white 
arms  and  shoulders.  She  smiled  and 
bowed  graciously  to  every  one,  and 
swayed  her  ostrich  fan  in  the  most 
fashionable  manner,  and  cast  such 
languid  glances  at  her  young  courtiers 
that  their  gallant  hearts  began  to 
thump  very  loudly,  and  the  other  young 
ladies  were  more  envious  than  ever. 
But  it  was  quite  plain  to  be  seen  that 
in  spite  of  all  her  pretty  wiles  and 
graces,  she  was  in  a  dreadful  state  of 
expectancy.  The  foreign  suitors  had 
not  yet  made  their  appearance,  and  she 
was  suffering  for  a  sight  of  them.  The 
dancing  had  begun ;  the  ladies  and 
gentlemen  were  flitting  about  on  the 
lawn  like  bright  butterflies  underneath 
the  colored  lights :  some  were  walking 
arm  in  arm  in  the  more  dreamy  rays 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  43 

of  the  moon,  and  talking  together  in 
lover-like  fashion,  while  others  sat  apart 
in  little  groups,  gossiping  and  flirting 
in  the  most  conventional  manner ;  but 
all  v^ere,  like  Cerulea,  eagerly  awaiting 
the  great  event. 

At  last  the  majestic  horns  of  the 
heralds  were  heard  in  the  distance,  and 
shouts  of  "  Here  they  come !  Make 
way  for  the  cavalcade ! "  resounded  on 
every  side.  Such  shouting  and  push- 
ing, and  waving  of  banners,  and  general 
excitement  as  there  was  ! 

It  was  simply  bewildering.  Every- 
body rushed  to  the  front  to  behold  the 
new-comers.  The  king  and  queen, 
quite  forgetting  their  royal  dignity, 
came  running  down  the  palace  steps 
with  the  rest.  The  estimable  Polly- 
phrastus,  in  his  hurry,  tripped  his 
foot  in  his  Oxford  gown,  and  fell  flat 
upon  his  learned  nose,  and  the  princess 
was  in  a  state   of  agitation  not  easily 


44  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

depicted.  All  the  festivities  and  merry- 
makings were  suspended  for  the  time, 
and  everything  else  was  forgotten. 
For  it  was  in  truth  the  young  suitors,  a 
whole  regiment  of  them,  advancing,  with 
great  trumpery  and  clashing  of  cymbals, 
and  a  prodigious  amount  of  noise  and 
glitter.  Each  one  was  mounted  on  a 
pretty  little  pony,  such  as  only  the 
Cerulites  have,  and  each  was  decked 
out  according  to  his  notion  of  what 
was  befitting  an  occasion  like  this;  and 
you  may  believe  that  together  they  pre- 
sented a  most  unique  and  grotesque 
appearance.  They  made  a  beautiful 
procession,  such  as  the  little  Cerulites 
had  never  dreamed  of.  They  marched 
up  slowly  and  in  great  state  towards 
the  palace,  the  heralds  following  on  foot 
and  carrying  the  national  flags  of  each, 
while  the  band  played  all  the  way. 

But  as  the  suitors  rode  through  the 
open  ranks,  smiling,  and  doffing  their 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  45 

caps  right  and  left,  the  expectant  little 
Cerulites  were  suddenly  stricken  dumb 
with  horror!  As  you  have  no  doubt 
guessed,  not  one  of  these  civilized  and 
high-born  princes  was  gifted  with  blue 
hair!  There  were  black,  and  brown, 
and  yellow  curly  heads,  —  indeed,  heads 
of  every  sensible  color  except  the  ap- 
proved and  much-sought  blue ;  and 
the  inhabitants  of  Okushee  looked  on 
aghast,  with  woe  and  dismay  written  on 
their  countenances.  Many  of  the  ladies 
went  straight  into  hysterics ;  the  queen 
fainted  dead  away,  and  came  to  only 
after  prolonged  pokings  and  pinchings 
from  her  maids  of  honor;  and  the  dis- 
appointed and  mortified  spectators 
uttered  little  shrieks  that  were  quite 
heart-rending.  There  was  a  general 
stampede,  of  course,  and  grief  and  con- 
fusion reigned  supreme.  The  young 
king  had  a  sad  time  restoring  order, 
which  he  did,  however,  after  some  effort. 


46  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

With  great  presence  of  mind,  he  called 
for  soda-water  and  smelling-bottles. 
Princess  Cerulea  exhibited  more  com- 
posure and  dignity  than  the  other 
ladies,  but  she  looked  very  pale  and 
weak,  and  Pattidan  was  obliged  to  fan 
her  vigorously,  and  to  administer  the 
vinaigrette  more  than  once  during  the 
evening. 

But,  as  you  already  know,  the  Ceru- 
lites  could  not  long  remain  in  this 
condition  of  moral  depression,  and 
what  with  ices  and  smelling-salts  and 
other  aids  to  comfort,  they  very  soon 
recovered  from  this  severe  shock  to 
their  nerves,  and  their  spirits  rose 
to  a  corresponding  pitch.  And  when 
they  discovered  what  really  great  and 
interesting  personages  they  had  invited 
to  their  island,  they  willingly  over- 
looked that  slight  defect  in  the  matter 
of  hair. 

While  the  Cerulites  are  enjoying  this 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 


47 


more  comfortable  frame  of  mind,  and 
becoming  acquainted  with  their  strange 
guests,  I  will  give  you  a  little  account 


The  young  princes  are  presented  to  the  royal  couple. 

of  some  of  the  more  prominent  figures 
in  this  startling  array  of  young  suitors, 
as  each  one  alighted  from  his  little 
pony,  and  was  ceremoniously  presented 
to  the  royal  couple  and  their  royal 
daughter. 


II. 

PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

IRST  of  all  there 
came  a  little  fat 
Dutchman,  a 
jolly  little  prince 
of  the  illustrious 
house  of  Roth- 
nase,  whose  an- 
cestors were  all 
famous  for  the 
beautiful  bloom 
on  their  noses, 
and  likewise 
for  their  fondness  for  beer.  This 
little  fellow  was  a  worthy  representative 
of  his  noble  line ;  and  when  he  was 
offered  a  goblet  of  foaming  soda,  mis- 
taking it  for  his  favorite  beverage,  he 
4 


50  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

plunged  into  it  so  eagerly  that  he 
sneezed  and  choked  in  a  way  that  made 
everybody  laugh. 

Next  came  a  little  Frenchman,  a  thin, 
wiry,  black-eyed  young  Bourbon,  who 
"  had  no  love  for  Napoleon,''  and  who 
gave  himself  a  thousand  airs,  and  yet 
was  so  astonishingly  civil  to  everybody 
that  he  made  a  good  impression  at 
first.  I  shall  not  attempt  to  tell  you 
what  his  feelings  were  when  he  found 
himself  in  the  company  of  such  very 
queer  people  ;  because,  in  the  first  place, 
some  of  his  feelings  were  indescribable, 
and  secondly,  because,  being  a  little 
Frenchman,  he  was  too  extremely 
polite  to  show  all  he  felt. 

After  him  came  a  frowsy-looking 
individual,  with  a  bushy  wig,  dressed 
up  in  the  most  remarkable  fur  coat  and 
cap,  and  looking  for  all  the  world  like 
a  young  bear.  It  was  hinted  by  some 
of  the  courtiers  that  he  came  from  the 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  51 

North  Pole ;  but  I  think  he  must  have 
been  a  Httle  Esquimaux  of  very  dis- 
tinguished parentage  ;  and  he  was  ugly 
enough  to  please  even  the  most  fas- 
tidious taste  in  Okushee. 

Then  there  was  a  stout  young 
Briton,  a  Knight  of  the  Garter,  if  I  am 
not  mistaken,  who  evidently  thought 
himself  of  great  consequence,  and  dis- 
played all  his  grandpapa's  orders  and 
ribbons,  and  who  was  considered  a  kill- 
ing swell  at  home.  He  had  an  alarming 
appetite  too,  and  turned  up  his  pretty 
nose  irreverently  at  the  delicacies 
offered  him  by  the  Cerulites,  and  ex- 
claimed loudly,  — 

"  Bless  my  buttons !  Where's  the 
roast-beef  and  the  plum-pudding?" 

The  next  notable  was  a  youthful 
Turkish  pasha,  in  a  gay  red  turban  and 
very  loose  trousers,  who  sported  a  long 
pipe,  and  who  turned  out  to  be  a  des- 
perate flirt. 


52 


PRINCE    TIP-TOP. 


There  was  also  a  young  nobleman 
from  Russsia,  his  Excellency  the  Che- 
valier de  Skzlawitchgnwski,  about  whom 
we  shall  have  little  to  say,  as  his  name 
is  so  very  unpleasant. 

Another  most  estimable  personage 
was  little  Prince  Sum-Fun,  lately 
arrived  from  Ching-a-Lung-lang,  a 
Chinaman  of  great  distinction,  whose 
chief  attraction  was  a  long  and  beauti- 
ful pigtail,  which  trailed  behind  him  in 
quite  a  regal  way,  and  which  w^as  the 
wonder  and  admiration  of  all  beholders. 
I  am  sure,  if  it  had  only  been  of  a 
beautiful  pale-blue  tint,  the  guileless 
little  Cerulea  would  liave  fancied  him 
on  the  spot. 

At  the  very  end  of  the  procession,  how- 
ever, came  the  last,  and  by  far  the  most 
lovable,  of  all  these  youthful  suitors. 
This  was  a  little  American  boy  from  a 
very  large  city,  who  was  duly  presented 
to  the  royal  family  as  Prince  Tip-Top. 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  53 

About  this  Prince  Tip-Top  I  shall 
have  much  to  say,  for  he  was  certainly 
the  prettiest  and  dearest  little  fellow 
that  ever  any  Cerulite  had  seen.  And, 
as  Pattidan  well  said  to  her  young 
mistress  that  night,  after  the  ball,  he 
was  '*  as  sweet  as  a  pink,  and  looked  as 
if  he  'd  jest  stepped  out  of  fairyland." 
He  had  a  bright,  rosy  little  face,  and 
the  sweetest  smiling  mouth  in  the  world, 
— a  mouth  that  looked  as  if  it  had  never 
said  an  unkind  or  ungentle  thing. 
And  yet  he  had  big  dark  eyes  that 
were  brimful  of  wholesome  mischief, 
and  the  sauciest  of  little  noses.,  and  the 
roundest  of  little  chins,  and  the  loveliest 
of  shining  yellow  curls  falling  all  over 
his  straight  shoulders,  —  all  of  which 
made  you  fall  in  love  with  him  before 
you  had  been  with  him  ten  minutes. 
Then  he  looked  so  graceful  and  courtly 
in  his  silk  and  velvet  clothes  and  his 
dainty,  plumed  cap  that  there  was  not 


54  PRINCE    TIP-TOP. 

a  more  irresistible  person  on  the  island 
that  night,  not  even  Cerulea  herself. 

Of  course  all  the  ladies  were  charmed, 
the  princess  in  particular;  and  of  course 
all  the  gentlemen  were  madly  jealous, 
for  Prince  Tip-Top  made  himself  so 
very  agreeable,  and  had  such  fascina- 
ting manners,  that  the  other  little  noble- 
men fairly  paled  beside  him,  and  some 
of  them  actually  turned  green  with 
envy. 

He  stood  by  Cerulea's  flowered  sofa, 
airily  twirling  his  cap  in  his  hand,  and 
talking  to  everybody  at  once  in  his 
most  engaging  manner,  while  his  eyes 
danced  all  the  while  with  excitement. 

"  Indeed,"  he  said,  looking  about  on 
the  gay  and  festive  scene,  "  this  is  the 
grandest  show  I  have  ever  been  to.  I 
declare  it  reminds  me  of  the  Fourth  of 

July." 

''  Oh,  does  it  ? "  said  the  princess,  with 
a  killing  look. 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  55 

"Oh,  what  is  the  Fourth  of  July? 
Tell  us  about  it,  do,  do !"  cried  a  chorus 
of  ladies'  voices. 

"  Don't  you  know  ? "  asked  Tip-Top, 
in  some  surprise.  "  Why,  I  thought 
everybody  knew  about  the  Fourth  of 
July.  Well,  it's  our  national  holiday, 
and  a  jolly  day  it  is,  too,  for  us  boys. 
It 's  ever  so  much  like  this,  only  as  I  'm 
thought  rather  young  at  home,  I  have 
never  been  invited  to  quite  such  a  swell 
celebration  as  this ;  and  I  have  never 
seen  so  many  charming  ladies,  with  —  a 
—  with  such  —  a — such  beautiful  hairl" 
he  added,  with  great  gallantry. 

The  young  ladies  all  laughed,  and 
admired  Tip-Top's  yellow  curls  in  an 
audible  undertone  ;  and  some,  who  were 
very  kindly  disposed,  said  that  blue  and 
gold  were  lovely  together,  and  that  he 
and  the  princess  made  not  such  a  bad 
looking  couple,  after  all. 

"  We  have  all  sorts  of  larks  on  our 


56  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

Fourth  of  July,"  related  Tip-Top,  with 
animation.  "  We  have  cannon  shoot- 
ing early  in  the  morning,  and  fire- 
crackers and  brass  bands  all  day  long, 
and  the  grandest  fireworks  and  torch- 
light processions  in  the  evening.  And 
then  big  men  go  about  making 
speeches,  and  talk  about  George  Wash- 
ington and  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence ;  for  that  is  the  right  thing  to 
do  on  that  day,  you  know." 

"  It  must  be  very  delightful ! "  said 
the  ladies,  who  were  really  not  taking 
in  any  of  these  patriotic  facts,  but  only 
Tip-Top's  bright  glances  and  sweet 
smiles. 

"When  I  am  a — "  (he  was  going  to 
say  "  when  I  am  a  man,"  but  he  checked 
himself,  remembering  that  just  now  he 
was  supposed  to  be  a  full-fledged  gentle- 
man, and  that  he  was  playing  the 
part  of  one  at  least),  — "  When  I  am 
married,"  he   continued,   with    amazing 


Prince  Tip-Top  captivates  the  Princess  Cerulea. 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  59 

coolness,  "  we  will  invite  you  all  to  go 
to  America  with  us  and  see  for  your- 
selves, won't  we  ?"  and  he  turned  to 
the  princess  and  looked  at  her  so  that 
she  blushed  rosy  red.  "  And  I  hope 
you  will  come,  and  that  you  will  have 
as  good  a  time  as  I  am  having  now." 

They  thought  it  would  be  delightful. 
Indeed,  anything  in  which  Prince  Tip- 
Top  was  concerned  would  be  delightful, 
they  were  sure,  and  the  gentle  Cerulea 
thought  so  too. 

The  king  and  queen  were  greatly 
impressed  by  this  generous  invitation. 
They  had  never  before  been  asked  to 
visit  any  other  country,  they  and  all 
their  subjects,  and  it  struck  them  as 
being  a  pleasing  novelty.  Tip-Top 
immediately  won  for  himself  the  royal 
favor  by  this  stroke  of  policy.  The 
king  told  his  wife  privately  that 
"  Prince  Tip- Top  "  sounded  like  a  very 
noble  name,  and  the  queen  agreed  with 


6o  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

him;  whereupon  the  king  put  his  arm 
in  Tip-Top's  and  called  him  "  My  dear 
fellow,"  in  the  most  familiar  way ;  and 
the  queen  danced  three  cotillons  with 
him,  and  pronounced  him  a  most 
accomplished  dancer ;  and  the  princess 
waltzed  with  him  so  many  times  in 
succession  that  people  began  to  com- 
ment upon  it. 

The  fact  was  that  Prince  Tip-Top 
was  '*  going  on  in  a  shocking  way,"  as 
his  rivals  expressed  it,  —  that  is,  doing 
his  best  to  make  himself  most  attractive 
to  his  royal  hosts,  and  succeeding  admir- 
ably well.  So  that  the  exasperated 
young  gentlemen  who  had  been  wall- 
flowers most  of  the  evening  began  to 
make  remarks  upon  his  audacious  beha- 
vior, and  the  confident  manner  in  which 
he  boasted  of  marrying  the  princess, 
without  so  much  as  "  by  your  leave,"  to 
anybody!  But  Tip-Top  did  not  mind 
his   rivals   a  particle;    he   was,  without 


PRINCE    TIP-TOP.  6l 

doubt,  the  Hon  of  the  evening,  and 
he  knew  it,  and  was  enjoying  himself 
hugely.  He  could  not  help  wishing 
secretly  that  his  little  friends  at  home 
might  behold  him  in  his  triumph. 
What  would  they  say  if  they  could  but 
see  him  disporting  himself  in  this  free 
and  easy  way  with  kings  and  queens 
and  princesses !  What  fun  it  would  be 
to  tell  them  about  it  when  he  returned, 
and  to  sit  back  and  watch  the  effect  of 
his  astounding  news  !  It  was  his  merry 
little  companions  at  home  who  had  so 
aptly  nicknamed  him  Prince  Tip-Top, 
because  he  was  always  at  the  head 
of  all  their  sports,  and  was  withal  so 
exquisite  and  pretty  and  dear,  and 
because  they  all  admired  and  courted 
him  greatly.  But  with  these  foreign 
princes,  whom  he  was  rivalling  in  the 
affections  of  the  fair  Cerulea,  it  was  very 
different.  They  had  none  too  high  an 
opinion  of  an  American  nobleman,  and 


62  PRINCE   TIP-TOP 

his  popularity   and   gracious   airs  were 
insufferable. 

When  at  last  the  ball  was  fairly 
over,  and  the  festivities  broke  up  at 
an  unusually  late  hour,  Prince  Tip-Top 
took  leave  of  his  new  friends  in  a 
way  that  was  grace  itself;  and  imme- 
diately the  queen  invited  him  to  stay 
all  night  at  the  palace,  and  offered 
him  her  very  best  and  choicest 
apartments,  which  he  joyfully  ac- 
cepted,—  at  which  crowning  insult  the 
less-favored  suitors,  who  were  by  this 
time  consumed  with  wrath  and  in- 
dignation, straightway  made  up  their 
minds  to  check  that  young  Top-Knot, 
as  they  called  him.  And  the  little 
English  lord  and  the  young  Bourbon 
proposed  to  look  up  his  ancestry  the 
very  next  day,  and  find  out  how  he 
came  by  the  title  of  prince,  forsooth  1 
and  who  his  grandfather  and  great- 
grandfather    were,    and     very    shortly 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  63 

show  him  up  in  all  his  vulgar  lineage 
as  an  upstart  and  an  impostor. 

Dear  little  Prince  Tip-Top!  How 
little  did  he  dream,  as  he  lay  that  night 
in  the  best  bed  of  the  palace,  and 
thought  over  the  splendid  time  he  had 
had,  and  of  all  the  frolic  yet  to  come, 
and  wondered  which  of  his  pretty  suits 
he  should  wear  on  the  morrow, —  how 
little  did  he  dream,  I  say,  of  the  un- 
pleasant intentions  of  his  enemies,  and 
the  downfall  in  store  for  him  !  Indeed, 
he  was  too  happy  to  have  any  such 
forebodings.  He  could  think  of 
nothing  but  the  pretty  princess,  and 
of  the  king  and  queen  who  had  been 
so  kind  to  him,  and  who  were  so  young 
that  they  seemed  just  like  his  own  little 
playfellows  at  home.  And  then  he 
tried  to  think  of  his  family  so  far  away 
in  America, —  so  far,  indeed,  that  he 
began  to  doubt  whether  he  ever  had 
any  family   at  all ;    and  somehow  that 


64  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

charming  little  Cerulea,  with  her  impos- 
sible hair  and  her  bewitching  little  ways, 
was  the  only  image  that  would  stay 
before  him ;  and  the  more  he  thought 
it  over,  the  more  convinced  he  became 
that  blue  hair  was  not  such  an  extraor- 
dinary thing  after  all.  And  gradually 
all  the  strange  things  he  had  witnessed 
had  grown  so  natural  and  familiar  to 
him  that  he  felt  as  if  he  had  never  been 
anywhere  but  in  Okushee,  or  known 
anybody  but  these  little  Cerulites ;  in 
which  hazy  frame  of  mind  he  soon  fell 
sound  asleep  on  his  snowy  pillow. 

The  morning  after  the  party,  Princess 
Cerulea  sat  in  her  boudoir,  before  the 
looking-glass,  admiring  herself,  while 
Pattidan  arranged  her  long  hair.  She 
did  look  unusually  pretty  that  morning, 
and  Pattidan  s  tongue  was  particularly 
lively  in  praising  her  mistress  and  tell- 
ing her  all  the  fine  compliments  she 
had  heard  from  the  young  gentlemen ; 


PRINCE    TIP-TOP.  65 

for  Pattidan  had  a  way  of  hearing  and 
knowing  everything  that  was  agreeable. 
But  Cerulea  was  not  thinking  so  much 
about  compliments  as  she  was  of  a 
certain  little  prince  with  shining  yellow 
curls  and  brown  eyes  ;  and  she  did  wish 
that  Pattidan  would  talk  about  him 
instead  of  the  others  who  were  not  half 
so  pretty,  or  half  so  sweet,  or  half  so 
noble  looking.  Pattidan  knew  this 
very  well,  the  artful  hussy,  but  she 
would  talk  right  along  about  everything 
else,  just  to  plague  her  little  mistress,  I 
suppose. 

"  I  say,  now.  Miss,  that  little  Chiny 
lord  with  the  sweet  pig-tail,  is  n't  he  a 
beauty,  though !" 

"  Gracious !  Pattidan,  how  can  you 
say  so,"  said  her  Highness,  with  a  look 
of  intense  disgust.  "  Why,  I  never  saw 
anything  so  ridiculous  as  that  queue. 
I  never  could  abide  a  queue,  any  way, 
—  you  know  that  very  well." 
5 


66  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

"  La,  Miss  !  and  was  n't  it  yourself 
as  said  his  Majesty,  the  Prince  Sum- 
Fun,  was  a  likely  young  man  enough, 
and  would  n't  be  at  all  bad-looking  if  it 
was  n't  that  his  queue  is  black  instead  of 
blue,  like  your  own  sweet  ringlets,"  said 
the  wily  Pattidan,  patting  and  stroking 
the  ringlets  in  question  affectionately. 

"  Oh,  well,  that  was  before  I  had  seen 
them  all,  Pattidan  ;  I  had  n't  seen  every- 
body when  I  said  that." 

"  Well,  there  is  a  whole  regiment  of 
'em,  I  allow,  and  I  don't  see,  for  my 
part,  how  your  sweet  ladyship  is  ever 
going  to  make  up  your  mind  amongst 
so  many." 

"  Ha,  ha,  ha ! "  laughed  Cerulea, 
"  that  is  easy  enough,  my  dear ;  for  to 
tell  you  the  truth,  I  have  seen  only  one 
that  I  think  is  a  really,  truly  prince! " 

"And  which  one's  that.^"  asked 
Pattidan,  feigning  to  be  eaten  up  with 
curiosity. 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  67 

"  Why,  bless  your  stupidity,  Pattidan, 
can't  you  see  ?  " 

"  Lor !  Miss,  I  am  dretful  stoopid, 
but  maybe  I  can  guess.  It 's  the  young 
Turkey-gobbler,  with  the  red  silk  night- 
cap and  the  blue  silk  pantaloons," 
suggested  Pattidan. 

"  No,  it  is  not  the  Pasha  of  Turkey," 
returned  Cerulea,  emphatically. 

"  Then  it 's  that  wigglesome  little 
French  Bon-bon." 

"  Pattidan !  I  'm  surprised  at  you,  I 
really  am.  Give  yourself  the  trouble 
to  look  at  his  hair  by  daylight,  and 
then  ask  yourself  if  I  could  submit  to 
the  agonizing  mortification  of  such  an 
alliance." 

"  His  hair  is  'most  as  black  as  a  crow's 
feathers,  indeed  it  is,  your  Worship;  and 
that 's  a  bad  sign,  a  powerful  bad  sign." 

"  I  should  think  it  was,"  said  Cerulea, 
warmly, — "it  is  a  sign  one  has  no  royal 
blood  in  one's  veins." 


68  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

"  My  good  gracious,  Miss,  you  don't 
tell  me  I  "  ejaculated  Pattidan,  who  was 
pardonably  ignorant  on  points  of  social 
distinction. 

"Of  course  I  do;"  and  the  little 
princess  admired  her  own  heavenly 
tresses,  with  an  air  of  happy  superiority 
which  she  rarely  indulged  in,  for  she 
was  not,  as  a  rule,  vain  of  her  great 
attraction. 

"  But,  your  Highness,  you  don't 
mean  to  say  that  all  them  fine  dooks 
and  princes  is  n't  royal  born,"  inquired 
Pattidan,  in  a  horrified  tone,  "  and  that 
you  're  going  to  marry  one  of  'em, 
anyhow  ? " 

"  No,  Pattidan,  I  am  not  going  to 
marry  any  one  who  has  not  the  bluest 
and  royallest  blood  in  his  veins,"  replied 
the  princess,  with  a  determined  shake 
of  her  head;  and  she  little  thought  that 
she  should  soon  have  cause  to  rue  these 
rash    words.      "  So    you    need    not   be 


_jS£> 


No,  Pattidan,  I  am  not  going  to  marry  any  one  who  has  not  the  bluest  and 
rovallest  blood  in  his  veins  !  " 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  71 

alarmed.  And  as  for  marrying  a 
person  with  black  hair,  why  that  is 
the  height  of  impropriety." 

"  Then,  Miss,  what 's  your  majestic 
pa  going  to  do  with  all  them  gay 
birds,  in  their  Sunday  feathers  ;  they  're 
every  one  of  them  just  wild  about 
you,  Miss." 

"  I  really  don't  know,"  said  Cerulea, 
seeming  greatly  perplexed.  "  We  shall 
have  to  consult  the  wise  Pollyphrastus. 
But  it  is  a  great  disappointment  to 
find  all  these  young  persons  with  such 
absurd  hair." 

"  That  it  is,  your  Majesty,  and  I 
dare  say  it  '11  be  a  great  disappointment 
to  them,  the  poor  young  gentlemen. 
I  feel  for  'em,  I  do,  especially  for 
that  sweet  Httle  young  prince  from 
Ameriky,  Prince  Top-Knot,  is  it  ?  " 

"  Prince  Tip-Top,"  corrected  Cerulea. 

"  For  my  part,  Miss,  I  never  see 
anything    so    aristocratic    and    sort    of 


^2 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 


elegant-like  as  those  legs  of  his;  and 
he  does  look  so  bewitched  with  you, 
Miss." 

Here  Princess  Cerulea  brightened  up 
astonishingly,  and  laughed  a  coy  little 
laugh,  and  said,  in  her  most  coquettish 
manner,  — 

"  Get  along  with  you,  Pattidan ;  how 
can  he  be  bewitched  with  me  when  he 
has  seen  me  just  once." 

'*  Indeed,  that 's  quite  enough,  bless 
your  sweet  ladyship,"  replied  the  loyal 
and  devoted  handmaid.  "  It  's  quite 
enough,  as  any  of  those  young  dooks 
will  tell  you." 

Princess  Cerulea  blushed  at  this 
compliment  in  a  way  that  was  not  in 
the  least  unbecoming.  If  any  of  her 
eager  lovers  could  have  caught  a 
glimpse  of  her  just  at  that  moment, 
with  that  delicate  bloom  on  her  cheeks, 
in  dainty  contrast  to  her  beautiful  blue 
ripples    of    hair,    they    certainly   must 


PRINCE    TIP-TOP.  73 

have  adored  her  frantically,  and  been 
in  despair  about  their  own  vulgar 
chevelures. 

"  Now,  Pattidan,"  said  the  little 
princess,  in  a  confidential  whisper,  "  I 
am  going  to  tell  you  a  secret,  a  very 
great  secret,  Pattidan  !  I  am  going  to 
tell  you  what  I  think  about  Prince  Tip- 
Top.  I  think  that  he  is  the  only  real 
prince  among  them  all." 

"  Just  what  I  Ve  thought  all  along, 
Miss;    only  his  hair  —  " 

"  Is  beautiful,"  interrupted  Ceru- 
lea.  "  Golden  hair  may  be  a  mark  of 
royalty  in  America,  you  know,  for 
gold  is  a  royal  color.  But  I  shall 
go  and  ask  Pollyphrastus  this  very 
minute." 

"  It 's  a  great  pity,  though,  that  Polly- 
phrastus has  n't  been  bright  enough  to 
find  the  Rainbow  Valley,  in  all  these 
years.  Then  that  dear  little  Prince 
Tip-Toe  might  have  as  blue  a  head  of 


74  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

hair  as  anybody,  and  there  would  be 
no  trouble,  and  everything  would  be 
lovely." 

Cerulea  gave  a  little  sigh,  and 
said  it  was  indeed  a  great  pity.  But 
as  it  would  have  been  deemed  highly 
presumptuous  in  her  to  cast  reflections 
on  the  wisdom  of  the  great  Polly- 
phrastus,  Cerulea  did  not  pursue  the 
subject  any  farther.  Her  toilet  being 
by  this  time  quite  completed,  she 
sallied  out  into  the  palace  gardens  to 
take  a  morning  walk  before  going  to 
consult  the  king  and  his  chief  adviser 
on  the  weighty  subject  which  now 
absorbed  her  thoughts. 

By  a  singular  coincidence.  Prince 
Tip-Top  had  also  come  out  for  an 
early  walk,  so  that  almost  the  first 
person  Cerulea  came  upon  as  she 
tripped  down  the  white  walk,  was  a 
graceful  and  gayly  attired  young  man, 
who  smiled  sweetly  the  minute  he  saw 


il««/lATu»«.o^e»«rt-^  «» 


By  a  singular  coincidence  Prince  Tip-Top  had  also  come  out 
for  an  early  walk. 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  ']^ 

her,  and  dropped  upon  his  knee  before 
her,  and  kissed  her  hand  in  the  most 
courtly  and  lover-like  fashion.  He  was 
dressed  in  a  beautiful  pale  pink  velvet 
suit,  just  the  color  of  the  rosy  morning, 
with  a  satin  ruff  around  his  neck,  and 
satin  puffs  on  his  sleeves,  and  satin 
rosettes  on  his  garters,  and  beautiful 
gold  buckles  on  his  dainty  shoes.  He 
wore  a  neat  little  hat  ornamented  with 
gold  lace  and  white  ostrich-plumes,  and 
he  carried  an  exquisite  bit  of  a  cane  in 
his  hand. 

Princess  Cerulea  stood  as  though 
transfixed  when  she  saw  this  bewilder- 
ing pink  apparition ;  she  could  hardly 
speak  for  emotion.  But  Tip- Top,  who 
was  always  at  his  ease,  and  knew  very 
well  how  to  make  people  feel  comfort- 
able, began  by  saying  he  hoped  she 
had  slept  well ;  and  he  thanked  her 
again  and  again  for  the  delightful  time 
he  had  had  at  her  ball  the  night  before. 


78  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

and  said  how  much  he  had  enjoyed  it, 
and  what  a  pleasant  place  Okushee 
was,  and  wondered  why  he  had  never 
heard  of  it  before.  And  then  he  told 
her  all  about  his  home  in  America, 
and  his  little  friends  there,  and  his 
Aunt  Jane, —  all  which  seemed  greatly 
to  interest  the  fair  Cerulea.  So  they 
walked  on  for  nearly  an  hour,  talking 
as  freely  as  if  they  had  known  each 
other  always,  and  having  the  best  kind 
of  a  time.  And  they  were  so  happy  in 
each  others  society  that  Cerulea  quite 
forgot  to  go  and  consult  the  learned 
Pollyphrastus  on  the  perplexing  ques- 
tion of  royalty  without  blue  hair,  — 
indeed  she  quite  forgot  that  Prince 
Tip-Top's  curls  were  only  golden,  so 
agreeable  and  attractive  did  he  make 
himself  to  her. 

But  there  were  those  who  had  not 
forgotten  their  suspicions  concerning 
Prince  Tip-Top's  pretensions  to  royal 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP-  79' 

lineage, —  who  believed,  in  fact,  that  his 
claims  had  slender  foundation. 

It  so  happened,  therefore,  that  just 
as  Tip-Top  and  the  pretty  princess 
were  walking  about  the  garden  hand 
in  hand,  whom  should  they  meet  but  a 
half-dozen  or  more  of  Tip-Top's  most 
formidable  rivals,  who  w^ere  holding  a 
very  animated  consultation.  Young 
Bourbon  began  to  gesticulate  fiercely 
with  his  wiry  little  arms  and  legs  when 
he  saw  the  smiling  couple  advancing 
towards  them ;  my  lord's  countenance 
assumed  a  look  of  withering  scorn  ;  the 
Turkish  pasha's  wore  a  savage  expres- 
sion;  and  Prince  Sum- Fun  gave  way 
to  his  feelings  by  viciously  tying  hard 
knots  in  his  pig-tail.  They  were  all 
consumed  with  envy.  To  think  that 
this  young  nobody — this  upstart  of  the 
day  before  yesterday  —  should  get  the 
better  of  them  in  this  fashion,  just 
because  he  could  look  sweet,  and  dance 


8o  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

well  with  those  pretty  legs  of  his,  and 
had  yellow  curls,  which  should  have 
been  a  disgrace  to  him  in  a  country 
where  nothing  but  blue  hair  was  toler- 
ated !      It  was  scandalous  ! 

Of  course  Tip-Top  did  not  suspect 
the  thoughts  of  these  evil-minded 
young  gentlemen,  so  he  smiled,  and 
greeted  them  in  his  kindliest  manner. 
But  nothing  could  be  less  cordial  than 
their  behavior  towards  him.  They 
utterly  ignored  his  friendly  speeches, 
and  after  paying  their  respects  to  the 
princess,  they  excused  themselves,  say- 
ing they  had  affairs  of  the  greatest 
importance  to  attend  to ;  and  with  a 
look  of  terrible  meaning  at  Prince  Tip- 
Top,  they  departed. 

Straightway  they  went  to  the  king's 
council-chamber  and  laid  their  suspi- 
cions before  his  Majesty,  who,  greatly 
agitated  by  the  news,  immediately 
called  in  his  clever-minded  queen ;  who, 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  8 1 

declaring  that  it  was  too  much  for  her, 
referred  the  matter  to  the  learned  Polly- 
phrastus.  This  gentleman  of  course 
was  much  perturbed;  he  had  by  some 
singular  oversight  omitted  to  look  into 
the  politics  of  this  new  country  whence 
the  eligible  Tip-Top  came,  and  he  now 
trembled  lest  he  had  committed  the  un- 
pardonable blunder  of  admitting  into 
the  kingdom  a  person  with  no  blue 
blood  in  his  veins,  and  no  blue  tinge 
in  his  hair. 

He  tried  to  dispute  this  question 
with  the  base  accusers,  and  called  for 
proofs  regarding  Tip-Top's  low  origin. 
But  these  riotous  young  suitors  only 
shouted  with  laughter  at  the  very  idea. 

"  Proof !  My  stars  and  garters !  who 
ever  heard  of  an  American  prince  ? " 
shouted  the  little  Briton,  whose  noble 
grandpapa  traced  his  descent  back  to 
William  the  Conqueror. 

"  Whoever  heard  of  the  royal  house 


82  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

of  Tip-Top!"  roared  the  Russian  with 
the  unpronounceable  name. 

''  Ha,  ha,  haT'  cried  the  little  French- 
man, and  he  turned  a  somersault  in  his 
excitement. 

"  Call  the  council  to  order ! "  thun- 
dered the  king,  in  tones  of  awful  sever- 
ity; and  Pollyphrastus  pounded  on  the 
back  of  the  throne  with  the  great  seal. 

"Now  bring  forth  the  Book  of  Wis- 
dom, and  summon  his  Highness,  the 
high  and  mighty  Prince  Tip-Top,  of 
the  royal  house  of  Tip-Top,  and  let  him 
make  his  own  defence!"  commanded 
the  king,  with  increasing  dignity  and  a 
magnificent  wave  of  the  hand. 

The  young  suitors  giggled  ;  whereon 
the  young  monarch  frowned  savagely  at 
them.  An  attendant  hurried  out  to 
seek  Prince  Tip-Top.  The  anxious 
Pollyphrastus  pulled  down  the  Book 
of  Wisdom  from  a  very  high  shelf, 
and  fell  to  turning  over  its  leaves  and 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  83 

running  his  finger  up  and  down  its 
columns,  in  a  way  which  plainly  be- 
trayed his  agitation  and  the  importance 
of  the  occasion. 

In  a  moment  more  Prince  Tip-Top 
appeared  upon  the  scene,  wondering 
what  had  happened,  and  why  he  was 
called  up  so  suddenly,  and  what  this 
queer  meeting  was  all  about,  and  what 
he  had  done  to  make  everybody  stare 
at  him  so.  In  his  excitement  he 
looked  prettier  than  ever ;  his  brown 
eyes  grew  big  and  inquiring,  and  his 
cheeks  were  like  two  red  poppies :  but 
his  face  was  truthful  and  honest,  and 
showed  that  he  was  an  innocent  little 
fellow,  whatever  was  his  ancestry.  Prin- 
cess Cerulea  had  followed  him,  and  she, 
too,  was  in  an  agony  of  suspense. 
When  she  saw  the  councillor  poring 
over  the  Book  of  Wisdom,  and  observed 
the  wrinkle  on  her  royal  papa's  brows, 
and  heard  muffled  whisperings  of  ''  im- 


84  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

poster  "  and  "  upstart  "  and  "  humbug," 
and  saw  all  eyes  directed  to  Tip-Top's 
rosy  figure,  her  worst  misgivings  were 
confirmed. 

The  king  proceeded  to  business  with- 
out delay,  and  called  upon  Prince  Tip- 
Top —  albeit  with  great  respect  and 
courtesy  —  to  relate  the  history  of  his 
descent,  to  tell  the  assembly  how  he 
came  by  the  title  of  Prince  Tip-Top, 
and,  in  fine,  to  state  what  his  claims  to 
royalty  were. 

"  Well,"  said  Tip-Top,  throwing  back 
his  head,  "  I  will ! "  and  he  spoke  with 
the  confidence  that  comes  of  knowing 
one's  self  in  the  right ;  for  he  had 
been  very  careful  to  go  through  all  the 
branches  of  his  family-tree  before  start- 
ing out  on  this  eventful  journey.  "  In 
the  first  place,  I  am  called  Prince 
Tip-Top  because  —  because  —  "  he 
stammered,  with  becoming  modesty, 
"  because  the  boys  at  home  liked  me ; 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  85 

and  secondly,  because  I  'm  descended 
from  Henry  the  Eighth  of  England  ! " 

This  statement  was  received  with 
deafening  applause  on  the  part  of  the 
courtiers  who  sympathized  with  Tip- 
Top,  in  which  the  king  and  queen  and 
the  princess,  and  even  Pattidan,  joined 
vociferously. 

"  How  are  you  descended  from  Henry 
the  Eighth  ?  "  demanded  Pollyphrastus, 
with  a  judicial  squint. 

Tip-Top  pulled  a  bit  of  a  note-book 
from  one  of  his  pockets,  and  opened  it 
at  a  certain  well-worn  page,  —  only  to 
get  "  a  start,"  as  it  were,  for  he  had  it 
all  by  heart,  like  his  catechism,  —  and 
then  he  began  with  great  stress :  — 

"  My  grandmother's  great-aunt  was  a 
Jenkins,  and  /ler  grandmother's  great- 
aunt  was  a  Simmons,  and  Aer  grand- 
mother's great-aunt  was  a  Jones,  and  Aer 
grandmother's  great-aunt  was  a  Robin- 
son, and  s/ie  married  her  sisters  second 


86  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

cousin-in-law,  and  he  was  a  Tudor;  and 
the  Tudors,  as  every  one  knows,  are  all 
descended  from  Henry  the  Eighth." 

Everybody  drew  a  long  breath.  The 
king  looked  enchanted.  Pollyphrastus 
beamed  at  Tip-Top  over  his  spectacles, 
and  the  dismayed  rivals  began  to  wilt 
one  by  one.  Before  such  a  battalion  of 
facts  it  seemed  as  if  there  was  really 
nothing  to  do  but  submit. 

"  Nothing  could  be  more  clear  and 
satisfactory,"  said  the  king ;  and  he  was 
on  the  point  of  shaking  hands  with 
Tip-Top  and  congratulating  him,  when 
that  suspicious,  interfering  little  French- 
man called  out, — 

"  Nossing  could  be  more  foggy  or 
more  ^//^satisfactory.  Look  in  zee  von- 
derful  Book  of  zee  Visdom,  and  see  if 
it  ees  correct !  " 

"  Look  in  das  buch ! "  echoed  the  fat 
Dutchman,  with  owlish  glee. 

"  Look  in  the  Book   of  Wisdom,  bv 


Prince  Tip-Top,  followed  by  Princess  Cerulea,  enters  the  Council  Chamber. 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  89 

Jove  !  "  shouted  the  little  Englishman  ; 
for  in  this  bright  thought  there  was  yet 
a  ray  of  hope  for  them. 

Tip-Top  was  agreeable.  He  felt  per- 
fectly safe,  for  he  was  sure  that  he  stood 
on  firm  conviction.  His  royal  blood 
was  perhaps  a  little  removed,  but  what 
of  that  ?  he  had  never  doubted  for  a 
moment  that  he  was  a  full-fledged 
Tudor.  Had  he  not  heard  his  Aunt 
Jane  boast  of  it  hundreds  of  times,  and 
did  n't  she  always  sign  herself  "  Jane 
Tudor  Jenkins,"  and  had  n't  the  whole 
family  signed  themselves  Tudors  for 
generations  past.^  So  he  walked  up 
very  boldly,  and  laid  his  little  open 
book  down  by  the  broad  page  which 
Pollyphrastus  had  before  him,  and 
calmly  awaited  results. 

Now,  this  Book  of  Wisdom  was  a 
very  curious  book.  It  was  a  sort  of 
encyclopaedia  which  furnished  inform- 
ation   upon    any    and    all    subjects    of 


90  PRINCE    TIP-TOP. 

interest  to  the  Cerulites,  and  to  the 
Cerulites  only.  It  told  them  everything 
they  wanted  to  know,  it  proved  every- 
thing they  wanted  to  prove,  and  dis- 
proved everything  they  wanted  to 
condemn ;  and  they  believed  in  it  as 
in  an  oracle.  It  was  the  most  obliging 
and  remarkable  volume  imaginable,  and 
its  value  could  not  have  been  overes- 
timated by  the  Cerulites.  The  one 
thing  which  it  had  not  done,  however, 
was  to  tell  them  where  the  Rainbow 
Valley  was  situated;  and  this  was  mys- 
tifying. But  there  was  a  reason  for 
this.  This  book  had  been  compiled, 
so  tradition  went,  by  an  inspired  Ceru- 
lite,  who  died  very  suddenly,  —  just  as 
he  was  preparing  to  begin  on  his 
column  of  V's ;  and  it  was  the  com- 
mon belief  that  the  fairies  of  the 
island,  becoming  jealous  of  his  learn- 
ing, and  fearing  lest  he  might  divulge 
their  secret  concerning  the   mysterious 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  91 

Valley,  had  taken  him  off  rather  un- 
ceremoniously. 

Pollyphrastus  was  the  sole  custodian 
of  this  Book  of  Wisdom,  and  the  only 
person  who  knew  all  its  ins  and  outs  ; 
and  he  understood  its  mysterious  work- 
insfs  as  w^ell  as  he  did  his  alo^ebra.  So 
he  immediately  compared  Tip-Top's 
statement  with  that  on  the  correspond- 
ing subject  in  the  book  before  him. 
And    sure    enough,    there    they    were, 

—  the  Jenkinses,  the  Joneses,  the  Sim- 
monses,  the  Robinsons,  —  all  branching 
down  to  the  trunk  of  the  family-tree 
with  the  most  astonishing  correctness 
and  precision,  until  it  came  to  that 
heedless  person  w^ho  had  married  her 
sisters  second  cousin-in-law.  Here,  if 
you  please,  matters  took  a  sudden  turn, 

—  melancholy  enough  for  poor  Tip-Top. 
Pollyphrastus's  countenance  fell  when 
he  came  to  that  place.  What  could  it 
mean  ?    The  Book  of  Wisdom  had  never 


92  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

played  him  such  a  trick.  He  read,  in 
hollow  tones,  — 

"  And  she  married  her  sister's  second 
cousin-in-law,  and  he  was  —  was  —  was 
not  a  Tudor,  —  but  a  Toodle  !  " 

"  Impossible  I "  cried  Tip-Top,  his 
eyes  as  round  as  saucers.  "  There  must 
be  some  mistake.  It  can't  be  that  we  — 
that  I  —  that  my  Aunt  Jane  —  that  they 
have  all  been  mistaken.  Oh,  please 
look  again,  do  !  " 

He  leaned  over  the  page  anxiously 
while  Pollyphrastus  pointed  to  the  fatal 
words  a  second  time ;  but  there  they 
were,  in  black  and  white,  as  plain  as 
plain  could  be.  That  person's  name 
was  actually  Toodle  instead  of  Tudor; 
and  the  Book  of  Wisdom  was  infallible. 
Tip-Top  was  forced  to  resign  himself  to 
the  inevitable. 

"  Well,  I  am  surprised,"  was  all  he 
said,  and  tears  of  shame  and  disappoint- 
ment stood  in  his  pretty  eyes. 


Pollyphrastus  reads  from  the  Book  of  Wisdom. 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  95 

It  was  certainly  a  most  humiliating 
state  of  affairs,  —  to  have  thought  one's 
self  a  Tudor  all  one's  life,  to  have 
held  one's  head  up  for  thinking  one 
was  a  Tudor,  to  have  aspired  to  the 
hand  of  a  princess  on  the  strength  of 
one's  being  a  Tudor,  and  then  by 
a  luckless  accident  to  discover  that 
one  was  only  a  Toodle,  —  a  low-born 
Toodle !  Tip-Top  could  not  under- 
stand it.  Doubtless  some  remote  and 
uncultured  great-aunt  had  pronounced 
Tudor  Toodor,  and  afterwards  Toodor 
had  gradually  become  Toodle,  and  there 
lay  all  the  trouble;  but  Tip-Top  felt 
that  he  could  never,  never  right  himself 
in  the  eyes  of  all  these  aristocratic 
Cerulites. 

The  council  broke  up  in  an  unusually 
solemn  and  gloomy  manner.  The  vic- 
torious rivals  did  not  dare  show  very 
much  exultation  over  Tip-Top's  dis- 
comfiture,   for    the    king's    face    was    a 


96  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

sight  to  behold;  and  I  think,  too,  that 
in  their  inmost  hearts  they  felt  rather 
sorry  for  poor  little  Tip-Top,  who  was 
thus  suddenly  fallen  into  disrepute  on 
account  of  his  Toodle  ancestry.  They 
walked  away,  rather  wondering  what 
would  happen  next.  As  for  the  prin- 
cess Cerulea,  she  was  carried  away  to 
her  bed-chamber,  where,  utterly  regard- 
less of  consequences,  she  wept  and 
wailed  just  one  hour  and  a  quarter  by 
the  clock. 


III. 


THE    RAINBOW    VALLEY. 


N  the  follow- 
ing morning 
the  entire 
nation  was 
apprised  of 
the  events 
just  recorded. 
Nothing  so 
nearly  ap- 
proaching a 
calamity  had  befallen  the  Cerulites 
since  the  days  of  that  reckless  young 
king  who  had  fallen  in  love  with  and 
married  the  chimney-sweep's  daughter. 
The  royal  family  were  steeped  in  a 
state  of  melancholy  which,  for  them, 
amounted  to  despair.  In  vain  did  the 
councillors  of  state   protest  against  the 

7 


98  PRINCE    TIP-TOP. 

indulgence  of  such  dangerous  senti- 
ments on  the  part  of  their  liege,  and 
endeavor  to  persuade  him  that  things 
were  perhaps  not  as  bad  as  they  seemed, 
and  that  it  was  always  darkest  before 
the  dawn  ;  the  king  would  not  be  com- 
forted for  the  loss  of  such  an  eligible 
son-in-law  as  Prince  Tip-Top.  All  this 
was  felt  in  the  atmosphere,  and  the 
air  was  full  of  gossip  and  conjectures 
about  that  little  American  impostor. 
Tip-Top  could  bear  it  no  longer;  he 
longed  to  get  away  and  hide  himself 
from  everybody.  Sympathy  w^as  not 
what  he  wanted  just  then  ;  much  less 
could  he  face  the  revilings  of  his 
enemies. 

He  started  out  to  seek  the  quiet  of 
the  woods  and  hills,  choosing  an  unfre- 
quented little  path  that  led  nobody 
knew  whither.  He  could  think  of 
nothing  but  his  late  misfortune,  and  he 
wanted  to  think  of  it  alone,  and  perhaps, 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  99 

after  cool  deliberation,  find  some  way 
out  of  it.  It  is  needless  to  say  that, 
like  all  disappointed  lovers,  he  had  not 
slept  a  wink  the  night  before.  He  was 
very  miserable, —  a  state  of  mind  which, 
for  political  reasons,  he  felt  obliged  to 
confide  only  to  the  trees  and  flowers 
and  the  murmuring  wavelets  that  came 
lapping  up  against  the  shore.  Every- 
thing was  bright  and  warm  and 
summery.  A  soft  haze  rested  on  the 
landscape.  The  birds  floated  lazily  in 
the  air,  and  their  songs  came  from  out 
the  far  distance  as  though  they  had 
been  sinofino:  in  some  other  world.  The 
hills  rose  one  after  another  like  green 
billows.  The  sea  was  blue  with  the 
reflection  of  the  cloudless  sky,  and  the 
fragrance  of  the  budding  trees  filled  the 
whole  air. 

In  the  midst  of  this  loveliness  poor 
little  Tip-Top  sighed,  and  he  was  very 
wretched. 


lOO  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

"  Everything  is  happy,"  he  thought, 
"  everything  is  happy  but  me." 

He  walked  on  and  on  for  hours,  not 
knowing  whither  his  steps  were  leading 
him,  and  not  caring  very  much.  He 
tried  to  think  calmly,  but  it  was  a  con- 
fusing business.  Finally  he  gave  way 
to  his  feelings. 

"  I  wish  I  could  lose  myself,"  he  said, 
misanthropically ;  "  I  wish  I  could  lose 
myself  so  that  they  could  never  find  me, 
and  then  perhaps  she  would  care  a  little, 
and  be  sorry  for  me,  and  not  believe 
that  I  am  a  real  impostor,  who  tried  to 
deceive  them,  when  I  never  dreamed  of 
such  a  thing  as  being  a  Toodle." 

For  if  there  were  two  thins^s  that 
hurt  poor  little  Tip-Tops  feelings  more 
than  anything  else,  it  was  having  been 
called  a  "  humbug "  by  those  boasting 
rivals  of  his,  and  the  thought  that  the 
Princess  Cerulea  might  think  him  un- 
truthful.    You  have  no  doubt  guessed 


PRINCE    TIP-TOP.  loi 

that,  by  this  time,  he  was  very  much  in 
love  with  the  gentle  Cerulea.  Indeed, 
he  thought  he  had  never  loved  any  one 
so  much.  This  was  partly  because,  as 
matters  stood  then,  there  was  no  chance 
whatever  of  his  getting  her,  and  partly 
because  she  really  was  a  very  amiable 
little  person,  in  spite  of  her  pale-blue 
hair.  To  tell  the  truth,  Tip-Top  had 
actually  grown  to  admire  this  more 
than  anything  else  about  Cerulea.  It  is 
a  curious  thing  enough,  but  you  know 
that  when  we  love  people  very  much, 
even  their  little  blemishes  have  a 
certain  charm  for  us.  Not  that  I 
am  dreaming  of  calling  Cerulea's  hair 
a  blemish,  but  Tip-Top  himself  had 
thought  it  a  little  queer  at  first ;  and  he 
could  hardly  account  for  the  strange 
new  feeling  in  him  which  made  him 
think  that  blue  hair  was  the  most  desir- 
able thing  in  the  world. 

With  all  these  feelings  in  his  troubled 


I02  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

little  heart,  he  still  walked  and  walked 
without  stopping.  He  seemed  to  be 
inspired,  so  to  speak,  to  walk  until  he 
had  walked  off  his  melancholy.  He  felt 
he  would  soon  come  to  a  stopping- 
place, —  what  place,  he  did  not  know; 
but  he  felt  sure  that  he  heard  voices  in 
the  whispering  leaves  all  around  him 
telling  him  which  way  to  go. 

He  was  not  mistaken ;  for,  as  he 
came  to  a  sudden  turn  in  the  road, 
he  found  himself  in  the  midst  of  a 
beautiful  little  valley  buried  deep 
between  two  green  hills.  It  looked  so 
cool  and  quiet  that  he  longed  to  stop 
and  rest  awhile  under  its  inviting 
shades.  There  was  a  little  spring  bub- 
bling out  of  the  side  of  a  rock,  whose 
clear,  colorless  water  ran  out  to  fill  a 
small  lake  near  by.  Tip- Top  thought 
he  had  never  seen  any  water  look  so 
tempting.  He  went  up  to  it  and  drank 
several  times  out  of  the  cup  which  he 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  103 

made  with  his  hand,  for  he  had  gone 
a  long  way,  and  he  was  very  warm 
and  thirsty.  Then  he  spied  a  mossy 
plot  underneath  a  blossoming  olive-tree, 
with  just  a  little  patch  of  sky  forming  a 
blue  canopy  above  it.  Tip-Top  guessed 
that  this  must  be  the  couch  of  some 
woodland  nymph,  and  he  began  to 
wonder  if  he  had  really  stumbled  into 
fairy-land  by  accident.  He  had  seen  so 
many  strange  things  of  late  that  this 
seemed  quite  possible. 

"  As  long  as  there  seems  to  be  no 
one  else  here  just  now,"  he  thought, 
"  I  don't  think  it  would  be  wrong  for 
me  to  lie  down  and  rest  awhile.  I 
ani  so  tired,  and  I  do  want  to  forget 
my  trouble  so.  Perhaps  a  fairy  will 
come  along  after  a  while,  and  then  I  '11 
ask  her  to  help  me  make  Princess 
Cerulea  forgive  me  for  being  a  Toodle. 
Good  fairies  always  help  people  out 
of  their  troubles ;    and  I  am  sure  only 


I04  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

good  fairies  can  live  in  this  beautiful 
place." 

He  stretched  his  tired  little  figure  on 
the  cool  green  moss,  looked  about  him 
once  or  twice,  and  almost  immediately 
his  eyelids  began  to  droop,  and  in 
a  moment  more  Tip-Top  was  sound 
asleep  in  the  mystic  and  unknown 
realms  of  the  Rainbow^  Valley ! 

As  soon  as  his  eyes  were  closed,  he 
began  to  dream  the  strangest,  most 
delightful  dream  he  had  ever  had.  He 
thought  that  a  perfect  legion  of  fairies 
hovered  over  him,  and  smiled  and 
talked,  —  not  to  him,  but  about  him, — 
in  the  softest,  silveriest  voices  that 
sounded  like  the  whisperings  of  angels. 

"  What  a  dear  little  fellow ! ''  said  one 
of  them. 

"  And  what  a  nice  good  boy  he  is, 
too,"  said  another.  "  Of  course  you 
know  that  he  was  in  total  ignorance 
about  that  vulgar-minded  great-aunt  of 


>^      ^ 


\/  i 


Prince  Tip-Top  in  trouble. 


PRINCE    TIP-TOP.  107 

his,  who  SO  inconsequentially  married  a 
Toodle  instead  of  a  Tudor." 

"  Of  course ;  and  what  a  disappoint- 
ment it  must  have  been  to  him ! " 

"  And  how  sweetly  he  takes  it,"  said 
a  third.  "  I  'm  sure  it  is  a  great  pity; 
for  if  any  one  deserves  and  ought  to 
win  the  princess,  it  is  Prince  Tip- Top." 

Tip-Top  was  surprised  to  hear  them 
speak  his  name  so  familiarly,  and  won- 
dered how  they  happened  to  know  all 
about  him ;  but  he  soon  remembered 
that  fairies  know  everything, —  it  is  a 
trick  they  have,  you  know. 

"  Not  Prince  Tip-Top  any  more,  my 
dear,"  said  the  second  fairy,  with  rather 
a  sad  smile. 

"  Yes,  Prince  Tip- Top  he  is,  and 
Prince  Tip-Top  he  shall  always  be," 
insisted  the  first  fairy.  "  See,  the  rain- 
bow is  just  appearing  in  the  sky  above 
his  head.  When  he  shall  have  slept 
one   hour  under  the   blue   light  of  the 


Io8  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

rainbow,  his  hair  will  immediately  turn 
to  an  exquisite  shade  of  blue.  Now,  the 
royal  family  will  never  be  able  to  resist 
it,  for,  after  all,  that  is  the  truest  indica- 
tion of  blue  blood.  Besides,  Tip-Top 
is  the  only  person  who  has  ever  walked 
to  the  end  of  the  rainbow;  I  am  sure 
that  that  is  a  distinction  which  ought  to 
meet  with  great  reward." 

Thereupon  all  the  fairies  set  up  a 
chorus  of  joyful  laughter  that  echoed 
and  echoed  down  the  green  valley  like 
the  tinkling  of  distant  bells;  and  not 
until  it  had  died  away  completely  did 
Tip-Top  feel  himself  waking  out  of  this 
happy  and  delicious  sleep.  When  he 
opened  his  eyes  the  first  thing  he  saw 
was  the  rainbow  overhead,  arching  from 
one  end  of  the  little  valley  to  the  other, 
and  flooding  it  with  its  varied  lights. 

"  Oh,  how  beautiful  everything  is 
here !  "  he  said,  looking  about  him  in 
astonishment.     "It  can't  be  possible  — 


Prince  Tip-Top  he  is,  and  Prince  Tip-Top  he 
shall  always  be." 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  Ill 

it  can't  be  true  —  that  I  have  actually 
found  the  Rainbow  Valley,  for  which 
the  Cerulites  have  been  looking  for 
more  than  a  hundred  years !  I  must 
be  dreaming." 

But  something  seemed  to  tell  him  that 
he  was  not  dreaming.  The  wind  that 
rustled  among  the  leaves  said  plainly, 
"  This  is  the  Rainbow  Valley ; ''  the 
birds  that  flew  in  and  out  of  the  branches 
looked  at  him  oddly,  and  seemed  to  be 
saying,  "  Lucky  boy !  you  have  found 
the  Rainbow  Valley ; "  the  little  spring 
murmured  the  same  thing  as  it  trickled 
down  the  rocks  and  pebbles ;  and  Tip- 
Top  was  overjoyed.  He  picked  up  his 
cap  and  ran  to  the  spring. 

"  Oh,  little  spring,"  he  cried,  "  I  am 
so  glad !  and  I  thank  you  so  much  for 
letting  me  find  you ! "  and  he  drank 
once  more  of  its  pure  cold  water. 
Then  he  looked  in  the  lake,  and  saw 
the  blue  and  pink  and  yellow  rainbow 


112  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

reflected  on  its  clear  surface,  and  he 
saw,  too,  his  own  image  as  clearly  as 
in  a  looking-glass,  —  his  pretty,  rosy  face 
and  eager  eyes,  his  slender,  graceful 
figure,  and  his  curls,  changed  to  a  hue 
surpassing  even  Cerulea's  lovely  hair. 

"  Oh,  oh !  "  he  cried  aloud,  "  I  look 
like  somebody  else ;  I  don't  look  one 
bit  like  myself.  What  is  the  matter 
with  my  hair  ? "  and  for  a  minute  he  did 
not  know  whether  to  be  glad  or  sorry. 

"Oh,  dear!  this  is  very  singular,"  he 
kept  repeating  to  himself.  "  What  will 
my  Aunt  Jane  think;  and  won't  the 
boys  at  home  shout  when  they  see 
me.'^"  and  he  twirled  one  of  his  pretty 
curls  about  his  finger  with  a  half- 
amused,  half-regretful  look. 

To  be  sure,  he  had  admired  blue  hair 
exceedingly  only  an  hour  before,  and  he 
did  think  that  blue  hair  was  charming 
for  ladies,  —  strictly  for  ladies  ;  but 
when  it  came  to  losing  his  own  pretty 


PRINCE    TIP-TOP.  113 

yellow  curls,  he  felt  that  he  should  like 
to  draw  the  line  there ;  for  he  could  not 
help  thinking  of  the  mortification  it 
would  cause  his  fastidious  Aunt  Jane  to 
see  him  in  this  ridiculous  plight. 

Just  then  a  saucy  little  humming-bird 
flew  up  and  alighted  on  his  shoulder, 
looked  straight  at  him  in  the  most 
intrepid  manner,  and  laughed  outright, 
—  that  is,  as  well  as  a  humming-bird 
can  laugh,  —  in  a  way  that  said  as 
plainly  as  words,  — 

"  Why,  you  ignorant  little  goose, 
don't  you  know  that  the  fairies  will 
make  that  all  right  .^  Just  at  present 
you  are  in  the  height  of  the  style.  So 
don't  worry  about  what  your  Aunt 
Jane  will  say,  but  go  and  show  yourself 
to  the  king  and  queen,  tell  them  you 
have  just  discovered  the  Rainbow 
Valley,  and  hear  what  they  say ! 
And  don't  forget  to  be  grateful  for 
your  blessings!" 


114  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

Tip-Top  felt  better  at  once.  He 
turned  and  excused  himself  to  the  hum- 
ming-bird, just  as  if  he  had  been  talking 
to  a  real  person. 

"  I  hope  you  won't  think  me  ungrate- 
ful," said  he ;  "  indeed,  I  am  very,  very 
thankful  for  all  I  have  seen  in  this 
beautiful  valley  to-day.  But  I  m  not 
quite  myself  yet.  It  makes  a  fellow 
feel  a  little  queer  to  have  his  hair 
change  color  so  suddenly,  just  at  first, 
you  understand.  I  've  no  doubt  I  shall 
get  used  to  it.  If  you  have  no  objec- 
tion, I  think  I  had  better  hurry  back, 
as  it  must  be  getting  late.  To-morrow 
I  '11  go  and  show  myself  to  the  royal 
family,  and  surprise  everybody." 

The  humming-bird  winked  approv- 
ingly and  flew  away,  and  Tip-Top  bade 
farewell  to  the  Rainbow  Valley  and 
was  off. 

He  found  his  way  back  as  easily  as 
he  had  come,  and  it  did  not  take  him 


PRINCE    TIP-TOP.  115 

nearly  as  long,  for  his  heart  and  his 
heels  were  light,  and  he  tripped  along 
as  if  he  had  been  on  wings.  In  a  very 
short  time  he  was  in  sight  of  the 
king's  palace.  Before  nearing  the  pub- 
lic thoroughfares,  however,  he  carefully 
tucked  all  his  curls  inside  his  cap,  so 
as  not  to  call  attention  to  his  change 
of  appearance,  because  he  wanted  to 
surprise  the  king,  the  queen,  and  the 
Princess  Cerulea  first  of  all. 

When  he  reached  the  city  everybody 
seemed  to  be  in  the  same  happy  frame 
of  mind  which  he  enjoyed:  the  bells 
were  ringing,  the  trumpets  were  blow- 
ing, the  flags  were  hoisted,  the  Cerulites 
were  all  out,  rushing  around  in  a  frantic 
sort  of  way.  Tip-Top  felt  sure  it  must 
be  the  setting  in  of  the  reaction  of  yes- 
terday's calamity.  He  walked  a  little 
faster  through  the  crowd,  not  stopping 
to  ask  any  questions.  But  at  the  gate 
of  the  palace  he  was  met  by  the  master 


Il6  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

of  ceremonies,  who  appeared  to  be  in 
an  hilarious  and  playful  mood. 

"What's  all  this?"  inquired  Tip- 
Top. 

"  Bless  your  sweet  worship,  Mr.  Tip- 
Top,  have  n't  you  heard  ?  " 

"Heard  what?"  asked  Tip-Top,  in 
some  curiosity. 

"  Why,  of  the  king's  turnamint  ?  It 's 
the  greatest  thing  that  ever  was  in  this 
benighted  land,"  said  the  master  of 
ceremonies,  with  a  touch  of  sarcasm. 
"  It  s  all  that  French  young  gentleman's 
doings,  too.  He  would  n't  rest  till  they 
had  a  turnamint.  He  said  turnamints 
was  the  most  aristocratic  things  in  the 
world.  Kings  always  had  them  when 
they  wanted  to  settle  an  important 
question.  So  a  turnamint  it  is;  and  all 
Miss  Cerulea's  noble  suitors  is  just 
a  spreading  of  themselves  this  very 
minute,  and  the  one  that  cuts  up  the 
biggest  antic  is  going  to  win  her  for  his 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  117 

bride.  Why  is  n't  your  lordship  there  .'* 
They  are  all  waiting  for  you." 

Tip-Top  started  at  this  piece  of  infor- 
mation. 

*'Well,  I  never!"  he  exclaimed;  and 
made  his  way  to  the  palace  without 
further  parley  with  the  genial  servant. 

The  truth  of  the  matter  was  that 
Princess  Cerulea  felt  it  her  duty  to 
accept  a  husband  from  among  her  for- 
eign admirers,  though  she  did  not  care 
a  straw  for  any  of  them,  except  Tip-Top. 
Yet  she  could  not  be  induced  to  make 
a  choice.  So  when  the  little  French 
nobleman  proposed  a  contest  as  a  means 
of  settling  the  matter,  she  joyfully 
accepted  the  plan,  hoping  that  Tip-Top 
would  hear  of  it  and  would,  for  her  sake, 
distinguish  himself  in  a  way  that  would 
distance  all  his  rivals.  Instead  of  that, 
Tip- Top  had  been  napping  in  the  Rain- 
bow Valley,  and  devoting  himself  to 
fairies  and  the  like  all  day! 


Il8  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

But  for  a  little  boy  Tip-Top  was  a 
good  deal  of  a  diplomat.  He  resolved 
to  lose  no  more  time,  and  turning  the 
matter  carefully  in  his  mind  as  he  went 
to  his  room,  he  determined  to  break 
the  news  of  his  discovery  to  the  assem- 
bled Cerulites  with  the  most  highly 
dramatic  effect. 

Sure  enough,  a  grand  tournament 
was  being  held  at  the  palace.  All  the 
dignitaries   of    the    land   were    present, 

—  the  king  and  queen  and  the  Princess 
Cerulea  occupying,  of  course,  the  most 
prominent  seats ;  near  them  sat  the 
estimable  Pollyphrastus,  who  was  to 
make  the  decision ;  and  behind  him 
were  the  lords  chamberlain  and  the 
maids  of  honor,  with  all  their  relations, 

—  in  fact,  everybody  whose  good  opin- 
ion was  of  any  account  whatsoever  was 
present.  All  sat  there  in  expectation 
of  the  remarkable  feats  of  the  young  he- 
roes.    The  suitors  stood  up  in  a  row  in 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  119 

their  gayest  and  most  festive  costumes. 
They  were  all  there  but  Tip-Top,  —  a 
fact  which  gave  rise  to  some  comment 
on  the  part  of  those  who  were  interested 
in  his  success,  and  to  considerable  tremor 
in  the  bosom  of  the  gentle  Cerulea. 

Young  Bourbon,  who  w^as  eager  for 
the  fray,  suggested  that  doubtless  Mon- 
sieur Tip-Top  had  had  the  grace  to 
withdraw  from  the  contest  on  account 
of  his  base  origin  and  out  of  com- 
pliment to  his  betters.  You  may  be 
sure  that  this  audacious  French  young 
person  was  silenced  without  much  cere- 
mony by  the  lord  high  executioner,  who 
was  a  rank  Tip-Topite.  But  after  many 
preliminaries  had  been  gone  through 
with,  and  vain  inquiries  made  after  the 
missing  suitor  by  his  friends,  and  divers 
manifestations  of  impatience  exhibited 
on  the  part  of  the  competitors,  the  "  lists 
were  opened,"  so  to  speak,  and  the  con- 
test began. 


I20 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 


The  first  to  appear  was  the  little 
Esquimaux,  who  perhaps  you  remember, 
and  who  performed  a  remarkable  bear- 
dance  all  by  himself,  to  the  great  delight 


of  all  the  little  Okusheeans.  His  debut 
before  such  a  critical  audience  was  con- 
sidered a  great  success,  and  he  was 
encored  and  encored  in  a  way  that 
was  very  flattering  to  his  hopes;  even 
Cerulea  condescended  to  smile  her  ap- 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  121 

proval  of  him.  And  he  was  so  elated 
that  he  appeared  and  re-appeared,  and 
danced  and  danced,  till  his  little  legs 
were  nearly  danced  off,  and  he  had  to 
to  be  dragged  away  by  the  assistants  of 
the  lord  high  executioner. 

The  entertainment  proceeded,  and 
the  delectable  heir  of  the  royal  house  of 
Rothnase  made  his  appearance.  He 
began  by  delivering  a  long  speech, 
which,  being  in  German,  unfortunately 
no  one  understood ;  but  it  sounded  very 
grand.  Then,  by  the  most  dexterous 
acrobatic  feat  he  suddenly  turned  a 
somersault  and  landed  on  his  head.  In 
this  precarious  attitude  he  drank,  with- 
out the  slightest  hesitation,  one,  two, 
three,  five,  nay,  ten,  glasses  of  beer ! 
The  Cerulites  began  to  open  their  eyes. 
Here  was  truly  an  exceedingly  well- 
balanced  young  person.  He  drank 
twelve  glasses,  and  shouts  and  hand- 
kerchiefs   went    up  on    all    sides.       He 


122  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

drank  one  more  glass,  and  the  house 
fairly  reeled  with  applause.  But  alas! 
even  glory  must  have  its  end.  By  the 
most  natural  process  in  the  world  those 
thirteen  glasses  of  beer  went  to  the 
illustrious  Rothnase's  head,  and  in  a 
moment  more  he  had  to  be  carried  away 
for  repairs. 

Young  Bourbon  next  came  to  the 
front,  with  an  air  of  high-bred  abandon, 
and  a  supercilious  expression  of  counte- 
nance which  said,  as  plain  as  might  be, 
"  How  simple  those  poor  fellows  are, 
and  how  trivial  their  feats.  Now,  kind 
friends,  observe  me,  and  see  them  pale 
into  insignificance ! " 

He  made  a  bow,  threw  up  his  arms, 
and  forthwith  executed  a  series  of  "  cart- 
wheels "  that  fairly  captured  the  house. 
His  little  arms  and  legs  were  something 
startling  to  witness  as  they  whirled  by 
with  the  rapidity  of  a  windmill;  and 
when  he  had  been  before  his  audience 


PRINCE    TIP-TOP.  123 

three  times  in  succession,  he  retired 
with  a  great  flourish,  albeit  with  some- 
thing of  a  dizzy  feeling  in  his  aristo- 
cratic little  head. 

The  next  champion  was  the  Turkish 
pasha,  who  came  forward  smoking  a 
long  hookah,  and  who  did  nothing 
worth  mentioning,  but  strutted  about 
trying  to  look  bewitching,  for  the  ben- 
efit of  the  ladies,  and  failing  signally. 
At  length  he  gathered  up  his  ample 
trousers  and  tried  to  run  a  race  with 
himself,  in  which  effort  his  pipe  came  out 
a-head;  and  he  made  such  a  simpleton 
of  himself  that  he  was  finally  laughed 
out  of  the  lists  with  ignominy. 

As  for  the  knight  of  the  Star  and 
Garter,  it  pains  me  to  state  that  he  had 
eaten  so  much  roast  beef  at  dinner  that 
he  fell  fast  asleep  during  the  perform- 
ance, and  not  hearing  his  name  when  it 
was  called  out,  completely  let  his  turn 
go  by.     I  do  not  know  just  in  what  man- 


124 


PRINCE    TIP-TOP. 


ner  he  meant  to  distinguish  himself,  but 
I  have  no  doubt  it  was  a  great  disap- 
pointment to  him  to  be  thus  ruled 
out    through    his    own    sleepiness   and 


carelessness.  He  was  not  missed,  either, 
which  was  a  still  more  bitter  vexation 
to  him,  for  almost  immediately  the  little 
Chinaman  stepped  up  to  greet  the 
eager  public. 

Now,    his     Excellency     the     worthy 


PRINCE    TIP-TOP. 


125 


Prince  Sum-Fun  had  taken  a  cold  in 
his  noble  head,  so  that  partly  for  this 
reason,  and  partly  from  nervousness 
and  embarrassment  at  finding  himself 
confronted  by  so  many  great  person- 
ages, he  began  to  sneeze  in  a  most 
uproarious  and  unseemly  fashion.  The 
little  Cerulites  applauded  him  with 
genuine  enthusiasm,  and  the  more  they 
clapped  the  more  he  sneezed.  The 
king  and  queen  were  enchanted.  Prin- 
cess Cerulea  declared  she  had  never 
heard  such  melodious  and  artistic 
sneezing  in  all  her  life ;  and  sneezing 
bade  fair  to  become  the  most  fashion- 
able accomplishment  of  the  day.  But 
you  have  all  heard  of  vaulting  ambition 
that  o  erleaped  itself  and  fell  on  the 
other  side.  Well,  Prince  Sum-Fun 
waxed  so  enthusiastic  over  his  suc- 
cess, and  sneezed  so  long  and  so 
vociferously  that  he  finally  succeeded 
in    sneezing    off    his    beautiful   pig-tail. 


126  PRINCE    TIP-TOI'. 

At  this  unexpected  feat  the  crowd 
shouted  with  laughter,  and  there  really 
seemed  nothing  more  to  be  desired  in 
the  way  of  achievements.  There  were 
still  a  number  of  young  suitors  who 
were  waiting  their  turns ;  but  these 
were  passed  by  without  notice,  —  which 
caused  them  to  smile  a  very  blue  sort 
of  smile  at  the  irony  of  their  fate. 
Pollyphrastus  wanted  to  decide  in  favor 
of  Prince  Sum-Fun  without  any  further 
ado,  when  —  thanks  to  Cerulea's  lucky 
star !  —  a  herald  rushed  into  the  midst 
of  the  agitated  multitude,  and  blew  a 
sounding  blast  on  his  trumpet. 

"  Halt !  attention  !  "  he  cried  out, 
as  soon  as  the  noise  had  subsided. 
''  There  is  still  one  more  competitor, 
and  one  who  must  be  heard  ! " 

Everybody  waited  in  breathless  ex- 
pectation, and  Princess  Cerulea's  heart 
began  to  beat  violently.  Away  down 
the     long     line     of     spectators     there 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  127 

appeared  suddenly  a  little  figure  in 
a  bewildering  costume  of  white  and 
gold  and  a  dainty  feathered  cap,  and 
lovely  soft  blue  ringlets  falling  about 
his  shoulders ;  and  in  a  twinkling  every 
one  had  recognized  Prince  Tip-Top. 

He  walked  up  in  his  most  graceful 
and  engaging  manner,  and  knelt  on  one 
knee  before  the  king  and  queen,  and 
looked  up  with  a  bright,  happy  smile  at 
Cerulea,  who,  in  turn,  threw  down  a 
flower,  which  he  picked  up  and  placed 
in  his  button-hole.  He  did  not  speak 
for  a  while,  —  indeed,  he  could  not  have 
been  heard  if  he  had  spoken,  so  wild 
were  the  people  with  excitement,  and 
so  great  was  the  commotion.  Besides, 
there  was  very  little  need  for  explana- 
tion. The  marvellous  transformation 
in  his  hair  spoke  for  itself.  Everybody 
guessed,  naturally,  that  Tip-Top  had 
made  the  great  discovery,  and  had 
taken   advantage   of  it  to  enhance  his 


128  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

own  sweet  looks.  Finally,  when  the 
king  had  quieted  the  frantic  multitude, 
Tip-Top  stood  up,  and  said,  in  his  most 
gracious  and  winning  voice, — 

"Ladies  and  gentlemen, —  I  mean. 
My  lords  and  ladies,  —  quite  by  acci- 
dent, yesterday,  I  stumbled  into  the 
Rainbow  Valley,  and  you  now  behold 
the  result !  I  shall  be  very  glad  to 
show  you  all  the  way  to  this  beautiful 
place,"  and  he  made  a  magnificent  ges- 
ture with  his  hand,  that  generously  took 
in  all  his  rivals ;  "  but,  of  course,  I 
expect  to  have  my  reward,  as  I  was  the 
first  one  to  find  it;  and  the  only  reward 
I  ask  is  the  hand  of  the  Princess 
Cerulea."  Then  he  made  a  low  bow, 
and  looked  so  pretty,  and  yet  so  manly, 
that  immediately  the  king  and  queen 
flew  down  and  embraced  him :  where- 
upon Cerulea  followed  their  example, 
and  the  matter  was  settled  then  and 
there,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  Cerulites, 


Princess  Cerulea  throws  a  flower  to  Prince  Tip-Top. 


PRINCE    TIP-TOP.  131 

and  Princess  Cerulea  became  Princess 
Tip-Top  forever  after. 

As  for  the  other  suitors,  the  brilliant 
heroes  of  but  a  few  minutes  before,  it 
was  now  their  turn  to  feel  a  little  blue. 
Some  of  them  said  they  felt  as  insig- 
nificant as  crawling  bugs,  and  wished 
they  had  never  been  born.  It  seemed 
incredible  that  this  slip  of  a  boy,  with 
his  rosy  face  and  pretty  smiles,  should 
actually  have  outdone  them  all,  in  spite 
of  his  Toodle  origin.  This  was  such 
a  shock  to  their  sensitive  natures  that 
they  vowed  they  should  never  get  over 
it ;    but  of  course  they  did. 

Prince  Tip-Top  was  promoted  to  the 
highest  dignities  in  Okushee,  as  the 
discoverer  of  the  long-sought  Rainbow 
Valley,  and  the  Cerulites  held  long  and 
protracted  festivities  in  honor  of  the 
happy  event.  And  after  that,  all  per- 
sons who  wished  to  make  themselves 
still    more    aristocratic    and    beautiful, 


132  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

went  and  slept  for  one  hour  in  the 
Rainbow  Valley,  and  came  away. a  joy 
to  all  their  friends. 

And  of  course,  in  due  time,  Prince 
Tip-Top  and  the  fair  Cerulea  were 
married,  and  the  wedding  was  the  most 
gorgeous  affair  in  all  the  history  of 
Okushee.  The  gayeties  lasted  five 
whole  days,  and  the  foreign  princes, 
who  had  determined  to  start  for  their 
respective  homes  on  the  very  day  of 
their  discomfiture,  were  finally  prevailed 
upon  to  stay  over  for  the  ceremony ; 
and  they  declared  afterwards  that  they 
had  never  witnessed  so  regal  or  so  en- 
joyable a  wedding.  And  they  all  went 
home  in  good  spirits,  all  excepting  poor 
little  Sum-Fun,  who  remained  inconsol- 
able for  the  loss  of  his  beauty. 

Then  Prince  Tip-Top  and  his  lovely 
bride  sailed  away  on  their  wedding 
journey  in  a  beautiful  little  barge 
draped  in  silk  and  purple,  and  manned 


PRINCE   TIP-TOP.  133 

by  fifty  of  Okushee's  most  skilful  oars- 
men. And  as  it  glided  out  into  the 
blue  sea,  straightway  a  lovely  rainbow 
stretched  across  the  heavens  above 
them  and  shot  a  golden  streak  athwart 
the  water,  and  when  they  passed  in 
this  golden  ray  of  rainbow,  immediately 
Tip-Top's  own  beautiful  curls  assumed 
their  natural  golden  hue,  and  those  of 
his  little  bride  became  of  the  same 
color,  and  indeed  the  whole  of  the  airy 
ship  was  for  a  moment  transformed 
into  a  golden  boat  by  the  light  that 
fell  upon  it. 

Then  a  great  deal  of  shouting  and 
waving  of  hands  went  up  from  the 
shore  where  the  royal  couple  and  all 
the  great  Cerulitic  dignitaries  had  come 
to  see  the  happy  pair  off,  while  Tip- 
Top  and  Cerulea  stood  hand  in  hand 
at  the  stern,  bowing  and  smiling  their 
farewell. 

I  am  not  sure  whether  Prince  Tip-. 


134  PRINCE   TIP-TOP. 

Top  ever  returned  to  his  own  country 
to  tell  his  wonderful  adventures  to  his 
Aunt  Jane,  or  to  show  her  and  the  boys 
his  lovely  little  bride,  or  whether  he 
preferred  to  spend  the  remainder  of 
his  Jife  in  the  land  of  the  Cerulites,  and 
to  be  young  and  light-hearted  always. 
But  I  do  know  that  wherever  he  went 
he  made  sunshine  around  him,  that  he 
helped  people  out  of  their  troubles  by 
his  cleverness  and  kind  heart,  and  that, 
like  all  the  other  lovers  in  the  Land  of 
Impossibility,  he  and  his  little  princess 
were  happy  and  gay  forever  and  a  day. 


THE    END. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

EDUCATION-PSYCHOLOGY 
LIBRARY 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 

Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


"Xl-L 

DEG18«67 

^^tVV  ^    •M  t<.f^*i 

,,      ...      ,         ^ 

:>  .-JSi 

i  ■  ■ 

JNTEr 

DEC  18  1967 

LD21A-30m-6.'67 
(H2472slO)476 

General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 

